The Rising Tide
by Ordon
Summary: Something is coming, something that Remnant has never before faced the like of. Something that threatens to destroy their world and everything in it and enact a dark and devious plan with all that remains. Remnant is not prepared.
1. Chapter 1

The Beowulf ran as fast as its legs would carry it; its pitch black core was filled with an emotion that before this had been completely alien to it… terror. Suddenly in its haste, one of its claws got caught in a root and tumbled over itself and fell to the ground. It got up unsteadily, and growled as it heard its pursuers halt and shuffle to surround it. It let out a roar of defiance and charged… the forest echoed briefly with snarls and the sounds of battle, but after a final cry, the forest was quiet once more.

Ozpin read the report in his hand with increasing worry; his desk was covered with such reports… all indicating the same thing… Grimm were emerging from their fastnesses, but not in a concentrated assault or wave. Rather, they were coming out piecemeal, and seemed to be dispersing into the countryside at random. He looked up and gestured at the scattered papers, "What do you make of this?" he asked quietly.

Qrow scratched his chin and considered for a moment, "This doesn't match up with any kind of movement I would expect from the Grimm." he replied. "They could have caused some serious damage before we could have organized any response had they simply moved toward major population centers. However, the fact that they are coming out like this has meant that while all hands are needed on deck to take them out as they come or to divert them; they haven't actually caused as much damage as they could have." He leaned over the map of Vale that was on the desk; it was covered with black pins representing an outbreak of Grimm, "It's almost like someone… or something, is forcing them out."

Ozpin let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair, "That's what I was afraid you'd say. We can't afford to keep this up… like you said, they haven't caused major damage, _yet_ , but we're wearing out and we're spread thin." He grabbed his coffee cup and took a sip, "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to send out the students to investigate; we simply cannot afford to use our more experienced hunters… I will ask that you lead them, along with Oobleck; your task is to take all available students teams and find out what you can; and Qrow?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow, Ozpin's eyes fell to the map, "Keep them safe."

Qrow rolled his eyes, "Of course."

Ozpin smiled, "That means staying sober."

Qrow's expression darkened a little and he stuffed the flask he had been about to drink from into his belt; he gave a lazy salute and walked out of the room.

Ozpin spun around in his chair to look out over the surrounding countryside… it looked peaceful, but occasionally he saw a far-off explosion or flash of light that bespoke of the battle currently raging throughout the continent. He closed his eyes, not willing to think about the great danger he was about to put his students in… whatever had driven out the Grimm must surely be a threat far greater than any they had ever seen.

"For all that is holy, Qrow," he whispered, "keep them safe."

Velvet ducked under a branch as she and Fox scanned the underbrush, she turned back to the other two and waved them forward.

Coco huffed a little and Yatsuhashi rolled his eyes a little as he slashed at the thick foliage in front of them, clearing a path. Her expression brightened and she walked haughtily to Velvet's position.

"Anything yet?" she asked.

Velvet shook her head, "We haven't even seen any Grimm after that last pack passed us an hour back."

Coco frowned, "I would think whatever was forcing them out would be a little obvious at this point." she peered into the thick forest ahead of them.

Fox cleared his throat, "You know… it might be a little easier to see in the deep, dark forest if you took the sunglasses off for once."

Coco turned deliberately toward him, "And be caught totally unfashionable before the great threat that is before us? Never!"

She said that part a tad too loudly for Velvet's liking, who winced, and stiffened as she saw a flash of movement in the distance.

"Um… guys?" she whispered, "I don't think we're alone anymore."

The others turned outward and drew their weapons, Fox gasped, "Wait… where's Yatsuhashi?"

The other two frowned and began looking around, where the large Hunter had been standing, there was only a depression in the grass.

"YATSUHASHI!" Coco called out, "WHERE ARE YOU?"

Suddenly a spear flashed out of the darkness and Fox barely dodged out of way in time and it slammed into the tree behind him. His eyes scanned the darkness, "It came from over there," he called out, pointing into the underbrush. He brandished his weapons and rushed forward; Coco unpacked her minigun and began advancing after him, she turned back to Velvet who was still staring at the spear and frowned, "C'mon Velvet, we need to take out whoever threw that spear and find Yatsuhashi."

"Uh… I think I may have found him," Velvet said, her voice quivering. Coco frowned and followed her gaze, and her mouth dropped open. Transfixed onto the spear was Yatsuhashi's head, his mouth and eyes frozen in terror. Suddenly there was a scream, and the two girls turned just in time to watch Fox's legs dragged into a bush, there was a brief rustle and then suddenly it was ominously still.

The two could only stare as the bush rustled again, and something rolled out into the clearing ahead of them. It was Fox's head, his mouth fixed in a defiant snarl, the ground glistened as blood oozed from his neck into the grass.

Coco gave out a yell and opened fire, spraying bullets wildly, the trees and bushes ahead of them were shredded she unleashed a fusillade of fire. Eventually after what seemed like eternity, Coco's minigun wound down and she lowered the weapon, she aimed her weapon wildly around the clearing, looking for a target.

She spun around as Velvet grabbed her arm, "We need to get out of here!" The Faunas girl screamed. Coco shook herself and focussed, Velvet was right, she had to concentrate on getting the two of them out of there. She slammed her eyes shut and forced the grisly sights of her teammate's remains, "All right, Velvet, get out a good melee weapon, preferably one that won't be too cumbersome in this forest, I'll keep my minigun out and cover from range. We'll use the flare and fall back until we can rendezvous with another squad." Velvet nodded and pulled out her camera, preparing to activate her Semblance. Coco's eyes scanned the treeline as she reached into the pouch at her side and pulled out the emergency flare that had been issued to each student. She aimed the flare up and popped the top, a red streak of light erupted high into the sky.

Coco immediately regretted it; as suddenly the entire clearing rustled and she heard movement closing in from all sides.

Velvet stood paralyzed, "Uh… Coco?"

Coco grabbed Velvet by the arm, "Don't just STAND there! Run for it!" the two ran back the way they had come; away from the horrible things that followed.

"Guys, look at that!" exclaimed Pyrrha, and the rest followed her pointing finger to see an emergency flare burst in the sky.

"That means someone's in trouble, c'mon guys." said Jaune and the squad followed him toward the fading red smoke.

"Oh my god, yes. Just wandering through the forest has been soooo boring." complained Nora as she vaulted a branch.

Suddenly Ren halted, staring up at the sky.

Pyrrha stopped, "What's wrong Ren?" she asked.

Ren pointed, and the team watched in mounting horror as another flare went off… then another… soon the sky was filled with red smoke.

"Uhhhh…." Jaune stood there, stupefied, suddenly a scream rent the air ahead of them, galvanizing him into action; "Okay, stick to the plan, help whoever that is and then uh… go from there."

The rest of the team shook themselves and each murmured stunned assent, save for Ren… who was suddenly missing.

"Where's Ren?" demanded Jaune, slightly panicked. Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes, and everyone jumped. Pyrrha motioned toward the brush, and Jaune swallowed nervously and nodded, the two began advancing cautiously, shields raised, Nora followed behind with her hammer.

There was the sound of gunfire, and Ren leapt out of the bush, over one shoulder he carried an unconscious Velvet, with the other hand he fired his pistol as he backpedaled toward the group. He spun around and pelted his way toward them, "run." he said calmly as he rushed by.

Pyrrha grabbed the stunned Jaune by the arm and followed, Nora close behind, "but I haven't even been able to hit anything with my hammer!" she whined as she ran.

"Trust me… I don't' think you want to get in range of these things," said a voice beside them, which caused Jaune to trip and almost crash to the ground had Pyrrha not dragged him upward by the arm.

"Qrow, thank the Maidens." exclaimed Pyrrha, relieved; then she frowned, "um… sir, what happened to your arm?"

Qrow's right arm was gone below the elbow, there was a rough bandage covering the stump that seeped blood as he ran. He grimaced, "Let's just say that I had a rough encounter with what we're facing."

"I don't understand…" Pyrrha said, her voice starting to crack, "what the hell are these things?"

Qrow frowned, "I wish I knew, all I know is that they're fast and vicious, and they just keep coming. I also know is that this expedition was never prepared for this kind of resistance. We were supposed to be a scouting force; as it is… I have reason to believe that we've lost over half of our effective force."

Jaune gulped, "So all of those flares…"

Qrow snarled, "That's the things we're facing… they're messing with us, I counted the flares, there never was that many students in the entire force, and honestly, seeing how these things move, I kind of doubt that that many students would have even been able to use their flares in time."

Pyrrha blinked and stared at him, "You've got to be joking."

Qrow shook his head, and then gave a start and stopped; the rest of the team halted alongside him, "They've surrounded us…" he said quietly, his eyes darting around the clearing.

The team followed his gaze with growing horror as they saw the bushes and trees surrounding them rustle ominously.

"Get into formation," Qrow commanded the team, "Ren put Velvet in the center." Ren complied, laying Velvet down gently in the grass before taking his position in the the circle.

"Wouldn't a breakout be more prudent." asked Pyrrha, her voice on edge.

"Under normal circumstances? Yeah, but we can't outrun these things, and even assuming we could; we have no way of knowing which direction is safer. We'll engage them as best we can now, while they have to come to us and can't ambush us, and then try to make our move."

Jaune nervously waved his shield back and forth, trying to gauge where the first attack would come from; he wondered what kind of monsters could do such horrible things. Taking an arm from an experienced Hunter like Qrow? Who had stood and fought against countless Grimm? Jaune's imagination tortured him with images of vile monstrosities that ranged from vile preying-mantis like beings to giant werewolves with flesh-rending teeth and sharp claws.

Suddenly there was a rustle in front of him, and a shape emerged from the bush; Jaune yelped in terror, then stared in confusion.

It was a bizarre looking creature; it was very short, barely standing up to Jaune's waist. Its long legs ended in webbed flippers, and its spindly arms were held loosely by its sides, a vicious-looking, bloodsoaked blade was held in its right hand. It stared blankly at Jaune with wide, bulging eyes; it blinked once, then twice. Jaune wasn't sure whether to scream or laugh, and he simply stood there, watching it. Suddenly the thing's demeanor changed, and Jaune practically choked on the overwhelming bloodlust that suddenly filled the air. The thing's eyes turned red and vicious spines that ran along its back stood up, purple and menacing. It raised the savage-looking blade overhead and it barreled toward Jaune, who made his decision, and screamed as the thing rushed toward him, but that sound was drowned out by the warcry that the creature gave that echoed for miles around in a deafening roar...

Mrglglglglglrwlrwl!


	2. Chapter 2

The thing swung the blade in a wild overhead arc that clanged into Jaune's shield, driving him a few paces backward. He desperately shoved the thing back and stabbed at it with his sword. The thing dodged the strike nimbly and swung its blade in reply; the two exchanged a flurry of blows, then suddenly there was a gunshot and Jaune's opponent flew to the side. Ren calmly nodded to Jaune, and then turned back to fight another opponent. Jaune was about to thank him when suddenly _three more_ of the creatures attacked him, one of them was armed with two jagged pieces of bone whose origin Jaune tried very hard not to think about.

The fight dragged on for what seemed like an eternity, and Jaune felt like he was about to collapse; they had killed hundreds of the things, Qrow alone had swept aside scores of them at a time with his scythe. But for every one they had killed, Jaune could swear that four more had taken their place; his arms burned as he parried one frenzied blow and blocked a second with his shield.

Suddenly the foes facing him were cleared as Qrow advanced, wildly spinning his scythe in a flurry of blows that drove the things back.

"All right kids, it's now or never." the Hunter stated calmly, "We're going to have to try to break through straight ahead and just hope that there aren't more of them. Jaune, Pyrrha, you're our vanguard, Nora and I will clean them up as you push them aside, Ren keep our backs clear and keep Velvet safe." Jaune nodded his assent, and began gathering himself to charge forward, the sight ahead of him was from a nightmare. With those bizarre monstrosities emerging from every nook and cranny; they were never going to make it. Jaune gritted his teeth and shook himself, if he thought like that, they were dead already, he and his team would make it, they had to.

"Ready?" Qrow asked, Jaune and Pyrrha nodded once, "Alright then, GO!" the team let out a weary battlecry, and Jaune lowered his shoulder, raising his shield and bull-rushed forward, swatting aside the enemies as they came. At first they made good headway, as the tactic appeared to take their savage foe by surprise, but exhaustion began to take its toll and Jaune and Pyrrha's headlong charge began to slow… and still there was no sign of the enemy's presence even lessening.

Finally the team stopped, panting and exhausted, the creatures seemed to hang back for a little while; as though toying with their prey. Then they slowly began to filter into the clearing, surrounding the team and staring at them with their bulging eyes.

Jaune's arms shook with exhaustion as with an effort of will he brought his sword and shield back into a fighting stance.

"I'm sorry kids," Qrow panted, "I failed you."

"We're not dead yet sir," Pyrrha said, as she too prepared for what would likely be their last stand.

"We'll bash some skulls in before we go down! I'm gonna rip them limb from limb!" Nora boasted, but Jaune could see that her eyes were tired and he could see the despair written there despite the wide grin she wore on her face.

Ren lowered Velvet to the ground once more, dusted off his pants, and calmly lowered himself into a fighting stance.

Qrow smirked and shook his head, as he brandished his scythe, "Well? You heard them," he called out, "come and get us you miserable bastards!"

The creatures hesitated for a moment, then suddenly with that strange battlecry, they began to rush forward, then they halted, freezing in place and they turned as one to look up at the sky.

The team heard the rushing of wings, and suddenly a mighty voice boomed around the clearing.

"YOU ARE NOT IN READINESS!"

A figured blurred into the clearing and landed in front of them; green flame wreathed around his form in a twisting stream. He stood and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture; the green flame writhed and then flared; crashing into the creatures.

Jaune watched in disbelief as the creatures simply disintegrated; falling into ashes where they stood. Soon the entire clearing was silent, save for the crackling of the strange green flame.

The figure turned to face them and Jaune was pretty sure he pissed himself at this point.

First of all, the stranger had bat-like wings that extended from his back; he also had horns that sprouted from the top of his head that curled back menacingly into sharp points. He had wicked tattoos that covered his body that glowed a dull green.

However, none of this was as terrifying as his eyes.

Where the stranger's eyes should've have been, two green orbs of flame burned behind a dark cloth. They glared appraisingly at the exhausted Hunters, finally he spoke, "We should move, the murlocs shall return, and in greater numbers." the stranger whirled around, his wings furling like a cloak behind him, and he began walking away.

"Just a minute; just who in the hell are you?" demanded Qrow.

The figure turned and he grinned, revealing sharpened teeth, "My name, is Illidan Stormrage, and if you wish to live, you will follow me."

Ruby didn't remember ever feeling as exhausted as she was right now. It was getting dark, and Blake was on lookout at the entrance of the cave they had taken shelter in; making sure no more of those _things_ got the jump on them. Yang laid on the ground, snoring slightly; cuts and bruises covered her entire body; Ruby gulped, and Weiss…. Weiss was out there right now. The last few hours felt like a rush… they had been patrolling when suddenly the signal flares had filled the sky and those _monsters_ had attacked them. Weiss had gotten separated from the group, and they had tried to go after her… but that had left them open. If it hadn't been for Yang and the strange woman who was currently perched on top of the rock stock still, as though deep in thought; they would have died out there.

Ruby examined her again… she was encased in outlandish, metal armor, the helmet made Ruby think of a very angry owl.

The stranger noticed her gaze, and cocked her head to the side, "You should get some rest child; it will be a difficult trek on the morrow and I would have you at full strength."

Ruby yawned; "but I should replace Blake on watch when she gets tired."

The woman considered her, then she pointed to the cave entrance, "She has already succumbed to sleep." she said, with a hint of compassion in her voice. Ruby's gaze followed the gauntleted finger and saw that Blake was laid out on a rock, her torso rising and falling evenly.

"Do not fear; I shall take the watch, I have no need for sleep." Ruby yawned again and considered, after all, if the woman had wanted to kill them she simply would have left them to die instead of saving them.

"Thank you again for saving us." Ruby said quietly.

The woman inclined her head slightly, "It would not due to allow such valiant maidens to fall before such dark and evil creatures. Do not fear for your companion, we shall find her."

Ruby laid her head down, then frowned and looked at the woman again. "I just remembered, you've saved our lives, and we don't even know your name."

The woman's green eyes glinted behind her bird-like helmet, "My name… is Maiev Shadowsong; now rest young maiden… we shall find your companion on the morrow."

Illidan had led Qrow and the team out of the forest and into an old abandoned quarry, boulders lay scattered, and the hill it was situated on allowed them to watch for anything coming in and out of the forest.

They had set up camp for the night, and were currently sitting around a campfire; the glow hidden by the giant rocks that surrounded them. The strange 'kaldorei' or night elf, as he had begrudgingly allowed after getting tired of Jaune mispronouncing it several times; had been somewhat taciturn on their flight out of the forest. Occasionally he had called for a stop; his strange green orbs glowing in his eye-sockets as he scanned the underbrush, before finally motioning them forward once more. They had encountered no more of the 'murlocs' as Illidan had called them on their way to the quarry; and the Hunters could only attribute that spot of luck to their guide's heightened senses.

It was only when they had reached the quarry that the reclusive night elf had spoke, "Come, we shall make camp here; and I shall tell you more of what your world now faces."

Illidan paced in front of the fire for a few minutes, as though contemplating; finally he turned to the team, the fire casting strange shadows on his features that gave him an ominous appearance.

"Your world was not ready for this encroaching darkness." he said quietly, "this is not your fault, but now it stands at the brink of great peril."

"These things… these… murlocs." Pyrrha interjected, "what do they want?"

Illidan was still for a long moment, "They want to take your world; they will watch it burn. Now be silent, and I shall explain just what it is you face."

His gaze turned to the fire, and he spoke as the shadows played across his face, "In the beginning, there was the Burning Legion; a powerful army of demons headed by a Titan, a being name Sargeras."

"Um…" Jaune nervously raised his hand, "What kind of Grimm is that?"

Illidan's gaze turned to him and he frowned, "What is a... Grimm?"

"Grimm are creatures that seek to extinguish life on all of Remnant." explained Pyrrha.

Illidan shook his head, "I know not what a Grimm is, but know this… a Titan is a being far above any such creature; now don't interrupt. Sargeras long ago attempted to encroach on my world, Azeroth, we were able to finally repel his forces at great cost." his visage darkened, "however, unbeknownst to us, he had created a force far greater than any we had ever imagined, his agents found a world called Mraenor, where murlocs eked out a precarious existence; fighting everyday to survive in a world that constantly sought to destroy them. The demons approached them with an offer; drink the blood of a pit lord, Mannoroth, and gain demonic power; however they would be bound in service to the Burning Legion."

"So the Burning Legion came here?" Pyrrha asked.

Illidan shook his head, "The murlocs, after slaughtering all life on their homeworld, turned on their demonic masters; in the demons haste to flee, they could not destroy the portal behind them. For a time all of the worlds feared an inexorable horde that would sweep forward and crush everything in its path… but nothing happened for centuries; many believed that perhaps they would remain dormant forever." the night elf began pacing once more, "then something changed, around three years ago they became active; I observed them, watched them as they swept through world after world, demolishing anything that stood between them and the portals they sought but otherwise leaving everything totally unharmed. Until finally they came here to this… Remnant." He stopped and turned to face them once more, his face drawn up in thought, "I do not know what they want with this world, but know this… the murlocs are still foul creatures that once served the Legion, no doubt their purpose here is as vile as their former masters." he clenched his fists, "I will not rest until every last murloc on this world is destroyed and so I ask," he offered an outstretched hand, "will you join me?"

The Hunters were silent for a long time as they considered all that the night elf had said, finally Qrow stood up, and gave a salute, "Sure, I think we can give you a hand." everyone groaned.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Jaune woke up to see a blade flashing down toward his face; he let out a scream and rolled to the side, and the metal gave a sharp clang as it bite into the rock. He kept rolling and got up in a combat stance; and then frowned.

Illidan withdrew his glaive from the ground and sheathed it, and the night elf nodded at him, "Good, very good reaction…" he then moved onto the next slumbering form, Pyrrha, and drew back his glaive.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Jaune demanded; Illidan lowered his weapon and turned to Jaune.

"In order to fight against the murlocs, you will have to be on guard at all times. Too often have they found you not ready for a fight. Thus begins your training as my Illidari."

Jaune slumped in bewilderment, "Training as your… what?"

Illidan turned and clenched a fist, "My Illidari… demon hunters that shall fight against the demonspawn that infests your world!"

"You named your demon hunters after yourself? Isn't that a tad… egotistical?"

Illidan waved a hand dismissively and turned back to Pyrrha's unconscious form, "It matters not… I must ready you for what is to come." He raised his glaive once more and before Jaune could stop him, sent it descending towards the girl's throat. At the last possible moment, Pyrrha's eyes snapped open and she rolled swiftly to the side, her spear already thrusting toward the night elf's chest. It connected solidly, and purple blood began dripping to the ground.

Pyrrha's expression turned to shock and her hand went to her mouth, "Oh Maidens… uh… I'm so sorry Mister Stormrage."

"Very… good… reaction…" Illidan said stiffly as he pulled the spear out from his chest, "wake the others… we shall continue with other training." he whirled around and began walking away stiffly.

A few minutes later, the night elf paced up and down the assembled Hunters, a white bandage strapped onto his chest.

"You were not…" he hesitated, as though choosing his words carefully, "ready... enough to stop the invasion of your world," he stated, "you were not… on alert appropriately… to stop the slaughter of your comrades… well no more; I shall train you… and give you the powers to stop this invasion… the powers… of an Illidari!"

He threw out his arms dramatically, a savage grin on his face… Jaune raised his hand. Illidan sighed, "Yes?"

"Um… what powers are those exactly? Will we be able to do that fire thing you did before?"

Illidan shook his head, "No, I am able to wield the flames of Azzinoth due to my mastery over these warglaives; and my ability as a powerful sorcerer."

Jaune frowned, "Can't you just teach us to be sorcerers then?"

Illidan sighed, "No, I cannot _teach_ you to be a sorcerer… you must already be gifted by the Arcane…"

Nora raised her hand, "Is the Arcane like Aura?"

Illidan frowned, "What is this… Aura?"

Nora rolled her eyes, "Duh… Aura is a life force that surrounds our bodies; it powers and fuels our Semblances, which allows me to do things like this!" Nora raised her hammer high and slammed it into the ground, causing the ground to crumble and fracture for yards around. She raised her hammer to point at Pyrrha, "And SHE can use like… magnets and stuff," she pointed to Jaune, "HE can…" Nora frowned, "actually I don't actually know Jaune does… but I think he can do stuff too."

Illidan frowned, "While that's all very interesting, that apparently was quite insufficient to deal with the threat you now face. Which is why I'm offering you the powers of the Illidari… of the DEMON HUNTER! We shall take out your eyes and give you the Sight, we shall craft your war glaives and train you in their ancient arts; and I shall gift you the power of the demons themselves to use to destroy all that oppose m- us!" he roared.

Pyrrha raised her hand nervously; Illidan massaged his temples, "Yes?" he hissed.

"Um… did you say ' _take out our eyes'_?" she asked.

"Yes," the night elf gestured to his own glowing orbs, "we must do so in order to give you the Sight… so that no demon may deceive you with their appearance, and so you can detect the Legion's foul magics…"

"Uh… can we skip that part," Jaune asked and he swallowed nervously, "I'm kind of attached to my current set of eyes."

The night elf frowned, "But without the Sight, you shall not be able to perceive your foes as I do. To be able to know their every step without fail, to see through their disguises and their deceptions."

"Yeah, but well… no offense, while I'm all for that stuff… I uh… don't really feel like having green fireballs for eyes." the rest of the group murmured an agreement.

Illidan sighed, "Very well… those that do not wish to receive the gift of Sight may choose not to." he raised a trembling finger, "but be warned." he whispered, "YOU WILL NOT BE PRE-" he cut off suddenly and snarled, "ADEQUATELY READY! For when the Legion and their ilk descends upon you! Now, let us begin with crafting your war glaives… first you must gather…"

Maiev halted suddenly causing the members of Team RWBY to stumble to a halt; her head shot up and she scanned the tree line intently.

"What? Did you find her?" asked Ruby hopefully.

Maiev was quiet for a moment, but then shook her head, "No, I am afraid not child… I just thought that I had sensed that... _fiend_."

Ruby nodded, "You mean that guy… Illidan? The one you were warning us about?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, the one who is no doubt behind this invasion. For now he has been able to disguise you see… he has a phrase that he cannot help but repeat. So, during his time in captivity, I put a spell upon him such that when he utters it; none of his foul sorcery will be able to conceal him from me." She clenched a gauntleted fist, "I will find you, Betrayer." she said quietly as she stared intently into the distance, "you shall not be able to elude me forever."

A few hours later, Jaune dropped his pack in front of the night elf, panting with exhaustion and stepped back, "Okay… so that's four oak branches, ten pieces of iron ore, six daisy flowers, and a single Murloc heart." Illidan examined the collection and nodded, "Very good, now that you have turned in all of your ingredients… we may begin."

Jaune raised his hand, the night elf closed his eyes and rolled back his head, "YES?"

Jaune lowered his hand uncertainly, "Is it normal for some murlocs to not have hearts? Because I think I killed like… ten of them before I finally found one."

Illidan nodded, "Yes… it is not uncommon for various body parts or organs to disappear upon death, how are you not aware of this?"

Jaune hesitated, "Um… I don't think I've ever heard of that happening before."

Illidan frowned and considered him, "Are you telling me that this doesn't happen on this world." Jaune nodded and the night elf shook his head, "This world is so very peculiar." he muttered; then he nodded toward the mish-mash of materials, "now, let us craft a weapon worthy of legend and transform you into an unstoppable weapon with which we shall sunder the murloc horde!"

Pyrrha looked skeptically at the pile of materials in front of her… "Um… so how exactly is this stuff going to make a super powerful weapon?"

Illidan grabbed the flowers and began mashing them; "I shall take care of that… while I am crafting your warglaives, however, you shall be attaining the form you shall need for the coming conflict." he put the resulting mash into cups and poured some water from a pot above the campfire. He mixed it, and then whispered a few words over each; the Hunters felt a thrum of energy form and enter each cup as the night elf did this. Finally Illidan set down the last cup, "Each of you take a cup, as well as your murloc heart, and follow me," Jaune grabbed one of the clay containers and followed into a cave in the quarry; his apprehension mounting. Finally they arrived at a clearing where several glowing, green runes formed strange designs on the ground. Illidan pointed to the designs, "each of you shall stand in a design and drink of the cup; then you shall devour the heart of your enemy; thus shall you attain the power that you shall need."

Jaune turned a little green, "Yo-you want us to EAT this thing?" he indicated the green and blue mass in his hand.

Illidan frowned, "Is it not obvious? That heart contains the savagery, bloodlust, and fel power of our foes. In devouring it, you shall gain a portion of that power to use for yourself."

"ALRIGHT!" Nora crowed, "now we're talking!"

Ren made a face and examined the heart, "Maybe if I cooked it into something first… maybe like a pie or something?"

Nora clasped her hands together, and her face lit up with excitement, "Oooh! Oooh! Yeah! Maybe with like… whipped cream or something on top!"

Illidan rolled his eyes, and then his face turned grim, "I must warn you," he said ominously, "As I stated before, the murloc heart contains the power of our foe… but it also contains the demonic corruption. This will be a battle for your very soul, the power will consume you and you will lose yourself to its embrace… however, should you drink of it too deeply… you shall die a most painful death."

The assembled Hunters were quiet for a long moment… suddenly Velvet stepped forward, "If it means taking vengeance upon those THINGS for what they did to my team? I'll eat a million of their hearts." she vowed, her eyes looking directly into the night elf's fiery green orbs.

Illidan slowly bowed his head in approval, "Then proceed," Velvet stepped past him and into the first circle. Nora followed with a spring in her step; joyfully skipping into the design beside her; Ren followed calmly behind. Jaune looked to see that Qrow was already calmly in a design, slouching casually as he examined the cup he held in his hand. Jaune turned to Pyrrha, who nodded slowly to him before stepping forward, Jaune swallowed and followed her, they entered the last two designs.

Illidan stepped to the center of the room, he chanted a strange language that Jaune didn't recognize and he saw orbs of the strange green flame appear… each one floated to one of the designs. As soon as they touched the runes, the flame flared and spread over the design rapidly… soon, each of the designs were alight, although Jaune could feel no heat.

"NOW! DRINK OF THE BREW AND DEVOUR THE HEART! TAKE THIS POWER AND YOUR FOES WILL NOT BE PREPA-." he snapped his jaw shut, "bah, you know what I mean."

Jaune looked at the softly glowing contents of the cup, then turned to look at Pyrrha, who was also looking at its contents skeptically; then she looked up a Jaune. She composed herself, and nodded to him, and drank. Jaune looked back his own cup, grimaced, then put the cup to his lips, and downed the contents.

Suddenly a surge of power washed over him in a wave; he lost touch of his surroundings, flashing in and out of awareness. In one moment he was on his knees, keening in a wild laughter that sounded harsh and musical to his ears; throwing his head around and around, his blonde hair long and whipping wildly. The next he was taking large, tearing bites out of the strange pulsating flesh in his hand, the strange blood oozing unheeded down his face and chest. Then he was standing; screaming in sweet, delicious agony as his very flesh twisted and transformed; he looked over to see his companions enduring similar changes, one of them threw back their head and screamed. Suddenly the Hunter burst into flame, and they fell to the ground, twitching once before going ominously still. The last thing Jaune remembered was a burning that raced through his veins, his knees buckled and the ground rushed up to meet him.

Cardin calmly waited as his… _benefactor_ … paced back and forth before him; voluminous black robes swirling around him as he overlooked the valley below.

Cardin's team had been patrolling with the rest of the students; they had walked into the forest brazenly, confident in their own skills. The ambush had already claimed Russel before any of them could react, his head flying from his shoulders and that chilling war cry echoing through the forest. One by one, his team had been overwhelmed, leaving Cardin alone, his arms trembling from exertion as he swung his mace, each blow connecting and slaying an enemy. However, more had kept coming and he had finally fallen to his knees, exhausted, waiting for the killing blow. Suddenly however, purple flames had scorched the ground, incinerating his opponents; he had seen the robed figure disdainfully kicking at the burning skeleton before turning to examine the fallen Hunter; then Cardin had blacked out.

He had awoken to find the figure standing over him, pouring a black, foul liquid over his wounds, healing them as though they had never existed. Since then, he had been able to understand the creature's alien tongue. It had asked him about Remnant, himself, and their technology; its eyes burning with intensity as it had interrogated him. Cardin had tried to resist at first, but a bizarre compulsion had forced his tongue, and slowly Cardin had learned that even should he fight that strange geass, the stranger had… other… more painful ways to convince him to obey. Slowly Cardin's will had frayed, and he now no longer even cared to attempt to resist the drive that the stranger's commands inspired.

Finally, the stranger spoke, "So… the Betrayer is here as well… recruiting followers for the coming battle." he stopped his pacing and turned to Cardin, extending an outstretched hand. Cardin felt a spike of pain drive itself into his head, and suddenly his mind was filled with images… Jaune and his team… Velvet… and Qrow, who appeared wounded. "Do you recognize these people?" he asked him.

Cardin nodded, "Yes… the boy's name is Jaune Arc, his squad is… formidable. The man is Qrow, he is a powerful Hunter, although I know little else… however, Velvet, the girl with the rabbit ears. She is worthless and weak, do not be concerned with her."

The stranger grunted and turned back to view the valley; "I'm afraid, young Cardin, that we find ourselves outnumbered." he murmured; he stood there for a moment, as though mulling over the dilemna. "These creatures… these… Grimm… you say that they are numerous?" he asked softly.

Cardin nodded, "Yes… at least I thought so before I saw these… murlocs."

The figure chuckled, "Well then, I believe we shall find a use for them… in the meantime… it appears that the Betrayer has… augmented his pawns." the figure walked up to Cardin, his slight form meaning he barely came up to Cardin's head, even while kneeling. "As a warlock of the Burning Legion… I can hardly do less for my own." before Cardin react, purple flame coalesced in the figure's right hand and he plunged it into Cardin's chest.

Agony raced through the Hunter's body and he fell to the ground, screaming as he flailed, the flame coating his body. The figure laughed, and turned once more, amused by the Hunter's suffering, "Come then… Betrayer," he hissed, "I… Mul'dan, shall destroy you and your precious demon hunters… but first, I have other business to attend to." the murloc extended his hands, and called forth the same purple flames that covered the unconscious Cardin. Then with a flourish, he and the hapless Hunter vanished, leaving nothing but the scorched ground behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Jaune woke up and before he even consciously thought about it, his hand thrust upward and caught the rapidly descending metal before it reached his throat, stopping it cold. He felt a sting as the blade cut into his fingers, and he stared at his hand in shock before looking up at Illidan's grinning face.

"Excellent," the night elf murmured, "much more composed." he stepped back and offered his hand to Jaune, who clasped it and winced as he realized it was with his hurt hand. Illidan grunted as he pulled the Hunter to his feet; Jaune stood on his feet and stared at his arm. Green runes similar to those on the night elf now glowed softly along its length, he looked at the other and saw similar markings there.

Illidan clapped him on the shoulder, "I'm sure you're curious about your appearance; allow me." the night elf raised a hand and a silvery projection formed in the air in front of Jaune.

From it stared a strange creature, it looked like Jaune, except the green markings covered his torso and arms, his hair had grown long, reaching well below his shoulders. Two small horns jutted from the top of his head, he reached up and touched the top of his head; sure enough, there were two growths sticking out from his head. The revelation unnerved him slightly such that the spines that grew along his back raised themselves a little… Jaune paused… spines?

He craned his head to look over his shoulder and saw that three sharp spines grew along his back… he couldn't help it, he screamed a little. Illidan rubbed his face in exasperation, then turned to Qrow who was staring awed at his arms. Upon waking he had found that he once more had two arms, in place of the stump, an arm that appeared to be formed of some kind of rock had formed. Green wisps of flame ran along its length, although Qrow felt no heat from it, he opened and closed the hand experimentally and grunted. He examined the other students, all had been changed in various ways, Ren and Nora's hair had also grown longer, with the strange horns also growing from their heads. Ren's were modest, spiraling elegantly. Nora's were large, jagged things that ran along her face, giving her a fearsome appearance; even now she was marveling at them and chattering excitedly at Ren. Qrow shifted his gaze Pyrrha, who even now was giggling slightly at Jaune who was screaming and running his hands along his back; she had been mostly unchanged, with no horns and certainly no spines. As far as Qrow could tell, Jaune had been the only one… blessed… with such a mutation.

Then his gaze turned to Velvet, who was standing aloof from the others, staring off into the valley below. Like their night elf companion, she had grown leathery wings on her back, the only one of them to do so; her rabbit ears had disappeared, in their place, horns had grown, curving backwards into sharp points. Qrow wondered what caused the differences in their changes; particularly with Jaune who was currently causing Pyrrha to go into hysterics as he nursed his hand, which had apparently gotten pricked by one of his spines as he had been fretting over them.

Suddenly Illidan clapped his hands together, grabbing everyone's attention; "Behold the weapons that shall bring you victory! Your warglaives!" he waved his hand at a flat boulder on which laid several pairs of the strange weapons.

Qrow gasped as he gazed at them, he had been skeptical of the seemingly mundane materials that the night elf had sent them to collect for the purpose of forging the weapons. However, he was finding it hard to argue with the results, the weapons were keen, and the same runes that were on their skin ran along the length of the blades. He selected a pair and twirled them around, grunting in appreciation at their balance. Then he frowned, but there was something… missing, he set the weapons down and turned to Illidan.

"No offense, but I think that I like my scythe better."

"I've practiced with Miló and Akoúo̱ my whole life." Pyrrha said as she too lowered the strange weapons. "It seems inefficient to try and switch out now."

"I won't be able to break any bones with THESE." complained Nora.

"These warglaives are the weapons of the demon hunter!" the night elf blurted out, "the very sight of these shall send the demons and their ilk into panic! Th-" he looked and saw none of them seemed swayed by the arguments, then he spat, "Fine; give me your weapons and i shall attempt to inscribe it with the same enchantment as on these."

Qrow grabbed his sword and gave it to Illidan, who frowned.

"I thought you said it was a scythe?" he said hesitantly.

Qrow nodded, "yeah it is… watch," he picked it up and with an effort of will, transformed it into its scythe form.

Illidan stared at it a moment, "Well that's… intriguing."

Qrow frowned, "That's nothing, check this out," he changed it back into sword form, then popped out its shotgun mode and fired a few shots into the rocks, the shots echoed around the clearing. Then formed it back into a scythe before handing it back to the night elf.

Illidan considered the weapon then looked back up at him, "Can I just ask you something?"

Qrow nodded, "Sure, what is it?"

Illidan gestured at the weapon, "Why do you have this transform into different weapons? Why not just carry other weapons with you?"

Qrow frowned, "I mean, a shotgun, sword and a scythe? Carrying all of that around would get kind of cumbersome."

Illidan cocked his head to the side and pulled out a small, leather bag, "Not really, all you would have to do is put them in a bag." To Qrow's amazement, the night elf pulled out some daggers, then a longsword, the a large two handed zweihander, then finally a large warhammer. Illidan nodded at the collection of weapons, "Disenchanting materials, I'll be requiring them to rune your… weapon."

Qrow stared at container in disbelief, "How in the world did you keep all of that in there?"

Illidan frowned, "You mean that yours can't?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow and walked over to retrieve his backpack and showed the contents to Illidan, a couple of flasks, a bedroll, and a collection of knick knacks. Illidan shook his head, "I had no idea that you had such incompetent tailors." he murmured, he reached into the bag and Qrow's jaw dropped as he pulled out several similar bags of the same size. The night elf gestured to them, "You may each take one, I shall seek to procure more when I can find the appropriate materials."

Qrow grabbed it and shrugged, he started to stuff his backpack into it, and watched in amazement as the small bag simply swallowed up the pack.

He looked up to see the night elf make a sharp gesture over the weapons and his eyes widened in amazement as they disintegrated before his eyes, forming strangely colored dust and crystals. The night elf collected them and his orbs dimmed as he frowned in concentration, finally he waved his hand over the sword and the strange green runes began etching themselves into the steel. Finally Illidan sat back, "There it is done."

Qrow picked up the sword, and twirled it around, grinning.

Illidan shrugged, "Perhaps it is for the best. The warglaives are not the easiest weapons to master, and we are pressed for time." he gestured to the others, one by one they stepped forward and the night elf repeated the process. Only Velvet took up the new weapons, testing their weight, she shrugged, "I lost my camera when I was running from the murlocs." she said quietly, "besides, something about these weapons seems… right."

Illidan shrugged and packed up his supplies, "Very well, then let us begin our training. We shall spar so that I might evaluate your proficiency. I wish for you to confer amongst yourselves, try to match like with like in terms of combat proficiency."

The Hunters huddled up, "Well so Qrow should probably fight Pyrrha," Jaune suggested. Qrow shrugged, "Makes sense, then why not Nora with Ren, and Jaune with Velvet?"

Velvet looked at the Hunter sharply, "Isn't Jaune the weakest? Why are you matching me with him?"

Qrow winced, "Well, I wouldn't say weakest, but maybe least proficient. Face it Velvet, you're going to be using entirely new weapons without your camera, so as far as we know you're operating at a serious handicap." he made a placating gesture, "besides, it's not like these assignments are permanent, none of us know how much we've changed from that ritual, so we'll play it by ear." Velvet considered that for a moment then nodded; turning a penetrating gaze to Jaune, who gulped nervously.

They turned back to the night elf, who was waiting patiently on the top of the flat boulder, Qrow nodded to him, "Alright we're ready."

"Excellent," replied Illidan, "who shall go first?"

Qrow turned to Pyrrha, who shrugged, "Sure why not?"

They walked a few paces before turning to face each other.

"You may start whenever you are pre- ready." Illidan called.

Qrow grinned, and saluted Pyrrha with his sword, she responded in kind, "On three!" the Hunter called, Pyrrha nodded. "One… two… three!"

Qrow and Pyrrha threw themselves at one another, when suddenly they both shouted simultaneously

"Trýpa oikópedo, áskopo thánato!" screamed out Pyrrha.

"Why's the rum gone!?" roared Qrow.

They both suddenly stopped and stared at each other, before turning to Illidan.

"What the hell was that?" asked Qrow.

"It just… came out." said Pyrrha, "I don't even know what that MEANS."

Illidan frowned, "I should have mentioned that there are… side effects… even if all of the ritual goes well. When you are about to throw yourself into combat, the power of the demons shall course through you. However, due to the battle that your soul must take in order to keep itself intact; a call that espouses the core tenants of your being shall come forth from your lips. It is possible to restrain this, however can take centuries of training; and so you WILL NOT BE PREPAR-" the night elf clapped his hands over his mouth and bent over, and the hunters could hear muffled screaming. Finally he stood up and shook himself, sighing heavily, "You will not be rehearsed… sufficiently for a good while yet. Do not let it bother you."

Pyrrha turned back to Qrow who shrugged, "On three start over?" she nodded. "Alright then… one… two… three! Why is the rum gone!?"

"Trýpa oikópedo, áskopo thánato!" Pyrrha shouted back.

The two clashed, Qrow's scythe hammering into Pyrrha's shield, she disengaged and spun, lunging with her spear at Qrow's exposed side. He twisted away nimbly, twirling his scythe for another strike; Pyrrha ducked nimbly under, batting at the Hunter with her shield. They moved in an intricate dance, Qrow having greater reach, but Pyrrha kept in close, preventing him from moving too far away from her; batting at him with her shield and preventing him from ever drawing back for a powerful strike. Jaune watched in awe as Pyrrha struck out with her spear savagely, causing Qrow to leap backwards. The Huntress refused to let him disengage and before Jaune could even blink, she had leapt the distance between herself and Qrow. Slamming into her opponent; Qrow grunted and attempted to shove her back, but she stood strong and it was the Hunter that was sent away reeling; but he recovered and lashed out, keeping Pyrrha turtling behind her shield. The fight lasted for what seemed like an eternity, with neither showing any sign of slowing, much less stopping.

Finally, Illidan raised a hand, "That's enough!" he called out; the two halted their strikes mid-swing and stepped back quickly from one another, amazingly neither even breathing overly hard from their exertions.

Illidan seemed to consider the two of them, "that was well fought, I judge that you two are ready." he gestured to Ren and Nora. Nora grinned and yanked Ren into the center of the clearing; the two faced off, Ren quietly standing composed on one end, and Nora twirling her hammer and grinning wildly on the other.

Suddenly Nora cried out, " **WAUGGGHHH**!", Jaune shuddered at the bloodlust and savagery that the cry promised to inflict and was shocked to see Ren respond in kind, " **WAUGGGHHH**!", but whereas Nora's cry was one of hysterical violence, Ren's seemed more… out of frustration. Ren opened fire with his pistols and battle was joined.

If Qrow and Pyrrha's fight had been a dance, Ren and Nora's fight was like a game of high stakes tag, Nora was it and Ren dodged and dipped her strikes. He kept up a barrage of fire and darting in and out of her reach as her swings missed him narrowly, crushing boulders and cracking the earth wherever she struck. Illidan allowed this fight to go on for a few minutes before standing up, "That's enough!" he called.

"Wauuggghhhh!" replied Nora as she kept pursuing Ren. Ren gave a plaintive look towards the others as he ran from her rampage. Illidan sighed and outstretched a hand, blue energy coalescing at his fingertips. Suddenly, Jaune felt the air chill and saw ice solidify over Nora in a rush; in mere moments, Nora was frozen solid in a thick block of ice. The block was still for few moments, then suddenly it began shaking violently and it shattered. Nora stood there shivering for a while, then sneezed, "Reeennnn… I'm hungry… are there any pancakes?"

Ren held up a finger, then retrieved his bag, he rummaged for a few seconds, then pulled out a small container, which he opened to reveal a stack of pancakes, which he handed to Nora. He led her over to the others as she happily dug in. Illidan shook his head and gestured to Jaune and Velvet.

Jaune stepped forward into the clearing, he was still nervous, but there was an excited edge to it now. He had seen how his fellow Hunters and Huntresses' abilities had been augmented, and now he was eager to see how his own had been improved.

He hefted his sword and shield, pleased at how light they were. He saluted Velvet, who responded coolly in kind, they both fell into a combat stance. Jaune cleared his throat, "So uh… start on the count of three?" Velvet said nothing, but slowly nodded, her eyes fixated on him.

"Okay, one... two… three!"

"My heart has joined the Thousand!" screamed Velvet.

Jaune's mouth opened as he rushed forward, completely involuntarily, and he screamed… a high pitched scream of nonsense that sounded reedy and panicked. Mentally Jaune sighed, really? He thought, as he raised his shield to block Velvet's first strike. Suddenly a concussive force hit his shield, slamming him down into the ground; he got up woozily, his ears ringing. He could taste blood in his mouth, and he was barely able to get his thoughts together fast enough to roll aside as she struck again. The ground where her blow had connected rent asunder and green flame bellowed forth along the length of the gash in the earth. Jaune stared at the display for a moment, then looked up in shock at Velvet, who snarled at him and drew back her arm for another strike. Jaune threw himself to the side just in time to avoid the blow, and watched in disbelief as the ground split before his eyes once more.

"Uhhh… Velvet? Just a sparring match... remember?" he asked nervously as she stood up and fell into a combat stance. He felt chills run down his spine as he saw Velvet's face, her face was empty of emotion, her eyes were coldly fixated on him as she drew her warglaive from the ground and walked toward him. Suddenly she rushed forward and Jaune desperately used his shield, barely able to interpose it between himself and the Huntress as she rained blows down on him. He was pretty sure he was screaming as he gave ground beneath the onslaught, then suddenly the blows halted, and Jaune warily lowered the shield to see Illidan walking forward, clapping his hands slowly.

"That's enough Velvet," he purred, "you have made your point; the match is concluded." Jaune let out a sigh of relief, then felt Pyrrha's hand on his shoulder, "Jaune, can you please just step forward? It's making me nervous…" she implored, and dragged him along. Jaune looked at her in confusion, "what?"

She looked at him, "Look," she pointed at where he had been standing. Jaune followed her finger and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

He could see the ground where his feet had dug in from the force of the attacks he had been enduring, right behind the last set; the earth had formed into a series of razor sharp spikes that glinted in the sunlight.

Pyrrha gestured at the scene, "During the fight, Velvet… _glowed_ … then from that… rift she made earlier; those started growing and when Illidan stopped the fight she was…" she paused, then whispered, "she was just about to push you onto them…"

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, dumbfounded, then shifted his gaze over to the Huntress, who was in quiet conversation with Illidan. She nodded and laughed to something that the night elf, then she turned her eyes to Jaune and smiled. Jaune looked away quickly and his spines trembled; the largest changes inflicted by the ritual, he reflected, weren't the physical ones it appeared.

Mul'dan strode confidently forward across the rocky outcrop toward the figure in the distance; the Grimm that crowded the area growled and snapped at him as he passed, but all sensed the fel power that he commanded and dared not approach. He smiled crookedly and halted, turning toward a particularly large bird-like specimen; it cocked its head at him and snapped its beak aggressively at him. The warlock shot out a hand and green flame bellowed forth, consuming the creature, by the time he had lowered the hand and stopped the torrent, nothing more remained. He chuckled again and continued walking forward, before finally arriving before the figure, he stopped, collected himself, and stood quietly.

Finally the figure spoke, "You… are like the invaders… and yet not… speak…"

Mul'dan smiled and bowed his head slightly, "Greetings master of this…" he glanced around at the gathering and coughed, "... horde… I bring you an offer from my masters of the Burning Legion."

The figure turned imperiously and glared at him, "My name is Cinder, and why do you think that I need anything from your masters?"

Mul'dan coughed a hacking dry cough, in truth he had no such affliction that inflicted these fits upon him; but he often enjoyed the discomfort that it caused in others. He glanced at the woman and his black heart warmed to see a single eyebrow twitch in irritation. Finally he looked at the gathered creatures, blinking slowly, "I had assumed that you had sought sanctuary from my kin in this place… why else would you be here?"

Cinder tilted her head, her eyes glared icily down at the hunched over murloc, "My enemies will fight each other and they shall both be weakened as a result," she said stiffly, "I shall simply sweep away what remains."

Mul'dan started to say something, then broke out into another fit of coughing, this time the woman's mouth spasmed into a sneer; the warlock bowed apologetically, "I am sorry then, I suppose I shall be on my way." he waved a hand and saw the woman's eyes widen as a shimmering portal formed, showing an image of the forest. He was about to turn to go, when he added over his shoulder, "my brethren will be here in a few days… these… Hunters and Huntresses, are falling rather rapidly… if you wish to avoid them, I would recommend finding other refuge." he took a single step forward.

"Wait!" called Cinder; Mul'dan smiled cruelly, but when he turned his face was the picture of innocent curiosity. "Just what…" she paused, collecting herself, "just what is it that your masters offer?" Mul'dan smiled and waved a hand, suddenly a giant, steel encrusted foot stepped through the portal, followed by another, a figure crammed it's way through the portal, its shadow dwarfing even the largest of the gathered Grimm. It's entire body was encrusted in steel, mottled with black and green. Flame bellowed out of its eyes and mouth, and in its hands it held a gigantic mace covered with rock shaped into spikes; it stood silently behind the murloc, who saw shock and… he was pleased to see… a spark of hope kindle in Cinder's eyes.

"This is Cardin," Mul'dan gestured to the behemoth, "Cardin, say hello to our friend." The former Hunter looked down at the woman, then its mouth gaped open and it let forth a mechanical roar.


	5. Chapter 5

Illidan clapped his hands together and he smiled, "Good, very good." he crowed as Jaune weaved and ducked Ren's flurry of blows. Their sparring arrangements had changed slightly after their first session; Pyrrha had swapped with Jaune to be Velvet's partner; leaving Qrow to face off against Nora and Jaune to fight Ren. Overall Jaune was pretty pleased by his improvement; he was much faster and stronger than before; and even the more… unexpected… transformations had come in handy. Even as he thought about this, he whirled around, using his upraised spines to block a strike; even as he thrust with his sword… even as he let out that screech that was grating even to his own ears. Ren held out his hands in surrender as Jaune held his blade mere millimeters from the Hunter's throat. The two withdrew, then bowed; then turned to the night elf, who was examining the other fights; he beckoned to Jaune, who walked over to Illidan's side.

"I believe you are finally pre-," he growled and shook his head, " _ready_ , it is time to launch our first strike against the murloc horde." Jaune felt a buzz of excitement, and his spines shivered; finally, they could use their newfound strength to begin fighting back; finally avenge their comrades.

"It will be good to finally face these things… as a team." he patted the night elf on the shoulder; Illidan looked over at him, frowning, and Jaune awkwardly removed his hand.

"Yes… although in this particular mission we will be splitting up, his gaze fell upon the forest; "I shall lead a team consisting of myself, Qrow, and Velvet. You shall lead a second team; consisting of yourself, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha… and one other. My team will attempt to infiltrate and find any information on just what it is that the murlocs are searching for; your team shall create a distraction by assassinating some of their leaders."

Jaune frowned, "Wait, you said one other… what do you mean by that?"

Illidan turned to him, "That shall be revealed soon, for now, ready your team; the final member shall join when I brief you on your targets." he nodded to Jaune and walked over to Velvet and Qrow, and they began talking in low voices.

Jaune sighed and sat down, groaning as he stretched his aching limbs. Pyrrha walked beside him and sat down as well, "So… you ready for this?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded, "It will be good to finally get out there and make a difference; I'm impressed with how strong you've gotten Jaune; before, I doubt you would have beaten Ren like you did."

Jaune rolled his eyes and grimaced "Yeah, although you wouldn't be able to tell that I won from the war cry that sounds like I'm about to wet myself."

Pyrrha punched him lightly on the shoulder, "I'm serious… I'm proud of you."

Jaune blushed and he rubbed his head, then pulled back his hand sharply as it hit his horn, "Ow!" he grabbed his hand and watched as blood oozed from the small twin punctures, "I'm really gonna have to get used to that."

Pyrrha chuckled slightly, then her face turned pensive as she gazed out at the forest, "Jaune… do you think the others are okay? Ruby, Blake, Yang, Weiss… heck even Cardin…"

Jaune nodded, "Yeah… don't worry, they're strong, they're fine."

Pyrrha gaze dropped to the ground, "It's just that… Qrow losing his arm…. Coco… Velvet won't talk about it… but I imagine that was awful… they were strong too and look what happened to them…"

Jaune patted her on the shoulder, "Hey… don't worry, we'll find them. I promise, everything will be fine."

"Everything is not fine!" Yang yelled as she paced back and forth.

Ruby grimaced, "Well, I mean… at least they're alive…" she ventured. Yang whirled on her, "Oh yeah!" she snarled, "they're just peachy; they've just been mutated and turned into those… things! By the very guy that's behind the whole thing."

"I mean…" Ruby turned her gaze beseechingly to Maiev, who was quietly sitting on a stone overseeing the grove. "Maybe it's not as bad as we think… maybe he's not really bad."

Maiev's gaze shot up to stare at the Huntress, who flinched before her cold gaze. "Right?" she asked weakly.

The woman stood up and began stalking over to her, "You know NOTHING…" she said coldly, "of the Betrayer… he has indoctrinated and corrupted your friends and now he uses them to fulfill his own dark agenda..."

Ruby visibly wilted and scuffed her foot in the dirt; the group was silent when suddenly Blake spoke up, "Look… I can believe Jaune being dumb and getting indoctrinated by some weird cult thing, but Pyrrha? Qrow?" she shook her head, "I was with the White Fang, I know what it feels like to be misunderstood," she looked pointedly at Maiev. "I also find it strange that if he's behind these murlocs invading that they're hiding in that quarry."

The woman glared coldly at Blake, "Obviously he's lost control of them…"

Blake raised an eyebrow, "Well then; it sounds like he might be willing to fight against them with us if nothing else." she turned to Ruby, "C'mon Ruby, it's not like you to give up like this; we could use their help if we're going to find Weiss."

Ruby straightened and Blake sighed in relief as she saw some of the fire rekindle in her team leader's eyes. Ruby pumped her fist, "That's RIGHT! Team RWBY… assemble!" A ghost of a smile formed on Blake's lips; Yang grinned as she put her hand forward, Ruby laid her hand on top of her sister's and she looked at Blake, who rolled her eyes and put her hand in the center as well. In truth, her words had been a last ditch effort in an attempt to stave off her own growing despair; but looking at Ruby's reinvigoration made the last spark of hope flare to life.

"Alright, so here's the plan," Ruby stared intently at her teammates, "first: we meet up with Uncle Qrow and Jaune; and get them to help us find Weiss. Then, we get together to kick some murloc butt! Finally, we get Ren to cook us pancakes in a celebration feast," her eyes blazed, "and girls… I want my pancakes." she looked up at Maiev, who stood aloof, watching the scene.

"Miss Shadowsong; thank you for helping us… but we can't give up on our friends." she bowed her head slightly, "We're going to them… and if you're right and they've been brainwashed in some evil plot thingie… then we'll just have to help them; that's what friends do." From the ground, Zwei barked excitedly, and danced around the Huntresses' feet.

Maiev's cocked her head, her eyes compassionate, "Oh child…" she walked up to the group and laid her gauntleted hand on theirs, "I will help you," she said simply, then her voice grew somber, "but I would advise that you prepare yourself… Illidan is an able teacher when it comes to betrayal."

Jaune gulped nervously as Illidan led Team JNPR into the forest, they had been walking for an hour or so, and when Jaune had asked about the fifth member that was supposed to join them; the night elf had dismissively told him that they would meet them soon. It made Jaune nervous that someone he had never met would be joining them as a part of his team.

Finally Illidan stopped and turned to the team, he rummaged around in his pack and began pulling out an assortment of items, casting them dismissively on the ground, occasionally he would look one over carefully before laying it gently on the ground in front of him. Eventually, he had a shield, a mace, and a staff, as well as an odd coin. He whispered some words over the items; before putting them in another bag that he laid in the center of the clearing. The night elf took a deep breath before looking back up at Jaune and his team.

"It is time for me to explain the… nature… of the fifth person that will be joining your team. I will explain this… then summon the individual in question… then I will brief you on your targets." he frowned as he seemed to contemplate his words. "In order to succeed in your task, you will require a balanced party… you will need people to keep the attention of your enemies," he nodded at Jaune and Pyrrha, "and you will need people to destroy those enemies," he nodded to Ren and Nora, the later who grinned as she hefted her hammer.

"But you will require a third dynamic… someone to keep you healthy and whole; this will not be one conclusive fight like those that you are used to… this will be a fight of attrition." he nodded at them, "I believe you are grimly aware of the numbers with which the enemy will come at you with." Jaune gulped and nodded, remembering the sea of bodies that had swarmed them in their previous fights with the creatures. "The people of Azeroth are used to fighting battles like this, thus we came up with this third role… a healer." he motioned around them, "unfortunately, as you can see… I have no such person with me to fill this role for you; and I am unversed in the magics that would be required to perform such a role, and thus cannot teach any of you." He indicated the bag at his feet, "therefore, we must summon a… mercenary… they are called many things on my world; mercenaries, heroes, champions, adventurers. They are those that fight and will demand recompense upon completion of the task; while they take the form of races of my world; they are… unique… in many ways." he frowned. "I will caution you… they are very strange people, and in order to keep your sanity, I would recommend that you do not think overmuch about what they say."

Jaune raised his hand, Illidan nodded, "Um… so… how exactly are they going to get here?"

Illidan pointed at the bag, "We will summon him… I shall offer this bag as tribute, and should they find it tantalizing enough, one will come through the Twisting Nether… the space between worlds… in order to claim it by performing the task we set for them." he nodded grimly at them, "now… are you pre- ready?"

Jaune gulped and nodded; and the others murmured their assent as well. Illidan exhaled heavily, "Very well, we shall begin." he waved over the bag and murmured softly, and Jaune watched in fascination as the bag transformed into a slip of paper that began to float over to the center of the clearing; his eyes widened as the ground began to churn and swirl. Soon a small vortex was spiralling beneath the paper; he jumped as Pyrrha tapped him on the shoulder, "um… is that an exclamation point above Mister Stormrage's head?" Jaune frowned and looked up, and sure enough, there was a glowing exclamation point hovering in the air above the night elf's head. Illidan didn't appear to notice, as he stared intently at the whirlpool. Suddenly a lanky blue arm shot through upward to snatch the paper from the air, and a truly bizarre creature emerged from the portal.

It had pointed ears, much like their night elf companion, but that's where the resemblances ended, while Ilidan's proportions were mostly human, this creature was long and lanky; its frizzy sprouted from its head over a thin face that had massive tusks jutting from the sides of its mouth. It was covered in glowing animal pelts, and on its back was strapped a long staff that had crystals dangling from its end on a long string. It looked over the paper briefly before walking up to Illidan, they talked briefly, and at the end of the exchange, the exclamation point above the night elf's head had transformed into a gray question mark.

The thing turned around, and it examined Jaune's team before snorting, "Geez flavor of the month players, demon hunters in all my groups." Suddenly its eyes widened and it pointed at Jaune and Pyrrha, "Dude, wtf double tank? That's gonna wreck our dps, one of you are gonna have to role swap."

"Uhhh…" Jaune looked uncertainly at Illidan, who grimaced and walked over to Pyrrha and Jaune and took them off to the side, "One of you, put your shield away; if you have to use it do so when he's not looking. the two of them looked at each other in confusion, then Pyrrha shrugged and collapsed her shield and put it away in her bag. This apparently satisfied the… champion… as he squatted down and began eating some foul concoction that it pulled out of one if its bags. Illidan looked over his shoulder, then bent in closer, "If he sees it, then tell him it's a 'defensive cooldown', and hide it again when you don't need it anymore."

"A what?" asked Jaune.

Illidan shrugged, "I don't know, but it appears to satisfy them."

"O-Okay." Pyrrha said, but her face betrayed her confusion.

Illidan held out his hands in placating gesture, "It's just some of the things you will have to do while working with him; trust me… if there was any other way, I would pursue it. I've always personally found working with adventurers… distasteful. Just bear with it, alright?"

The two nodded, and Illidan walked back into the center of the clearing. "Now, as for your targets, you shall be slaying two murloc warlords, the first is Murkgill, he is a general of his people and will likely be protected by an elite bodyguard. He is located a few miles northwest of our position." the night elf drew a crude map in the dirt with one of his glaives as he said this, and indicated the position with a large circle. The champion gave out a loud belch, and walked over to examine the map; then much to Team JNPR's collective confusion, he began randomly jumping; and soon was circling the night elf, leaping and bounding. Illidan's eyebrow twitched in irritation, but he continued, ignoring the hero's strange behavior. "The second is a shaman of the murlocs named Morgl; it is likely that once you kill Murkgill that Morgl will be honorbound to slay you in return. I will tell you this… do not expect the murlocs to break after slaying either of these leaders; they will swarm upon you in even greater numbers once they have fallen. Identify your targets, take them out… but if necessary, retreat, do not die needlessly. Any questions?"

The hero paused in his jumping, "Augh, finally. Let's get on with this already." he raised his staff and suddenly, a horse appeared out of nowhere. Jaune gasped, it was steed constructed entirely of bone; with blue lights flickering from its eye sockets. The champion leapt onto the mount and with a snap of the reins; he set off in the direction that Illidan had indicated. Jaune and the others hesitated.

Suddenly, Nora let out a whoop, "C'mon! Let's break some legs!" and she darted off after their strange companion; the rest of Team JNPR followed closely behind, before Jaune could join them, Illidan laid a hand on his shoulder, "I know that it will be… difficult working with the adventurer, but if he ever gets too unmanageable, just threaten to not kill Morgl. That paper is a… contract of sorts; and he needs to kill and take Morgl's head in order to receive payment. Good luck, Jaune." and with that, the night elf took off with a single flap of his wings. Jaune took a deep breath and ran off after his team.

Unnoticed by Illidan or Team JNPR, a single Beowolf emerged from the undergrowth and Cinder watched its eyes as Illidan ascended into the sky and flew off into the distance.

"He's left… it appears as though he plans to use his acolytes as a distraction while he discovers what the murlocs seek here." she looked pointedly at Mul'dan, "one might wonder why we aren't doing the same…"

The murloc began to speak, but devolved into a hacking fit that lasted several seconds, Cinder did her best to hide her irritation and disgust as phlegm spat from the creature's mouth. Finally, the warlock wiped his sleeve across his mouth, "I have already begun… I have sent my Grimmdar out to find the individuals whom I believe would be privy to that information." he tapped his cane, "as you can imagine, my kin's warrior ethos and lack of regard for personal welfare makes it… difficult… to procure information, but my masters long ago found a method that bypasses such reluctance." he turned as the Grimm around them snarled and snapped, and she followed his gaze to the source of the disturbance.

A lane had opened in the center of the horde… and in that opening approached what had originally been an ordinary Beowolf Alpha.

It was no longer even recognizable.

Its eyes had turned from red to a foul green, the same color radiated from places all along its body. Black rocky spikes had erupted from its hide, which had hardened into a purple carapace that made the former Grimm look like it was wearing some kind of plate mail. It towered over its former brethren, even as she watched… it casually batted aside a Goliath that had gotten too close, and the creature screamed as the mutated Grimm's… the Grimmdar's… claws rent a gigantic gash in its side. It continued to scream piteously as green flames chewed at the wound, and soon it was nothing more than dust; the rest of the Grimm backed off even further, not wishing to meet a similar fate. Cinder shuddered; the scene had not become uncommon; the natural Grimm appeared to hold a fear and hatred of the Grimmdar and the feeling appeared to be reciprocated by the Grimmdar's own contempt for their former kin. The foul creature knelt before Mul'dan and let out chuffing sounds, the warlock nodded and his visage brightened.

He clucked his tongue and turned his gaze to Cinder, "It appears they have been successful… come… to the Soul Harvester."

The Soul Harvester was a strange contraption, it consisted of several green floating crystals that radiated the same fel energy that the warlock wielded. They surrounded a giant green rune that was etched into the rock, and surrounding that in turn were cages. Each one held a murloc that raged and beat at their restraints, trying in vain to escape from their captivity.

Mul'dan waved his hand grandiosely at the display, "As you can see, each of these murlocs are still fierce, and likely would suffer horrible torture before they would tell us anything of use." he paused and sighed, "while I would enjoy such a session, the creation of the Soul Harvester means that such a luxury will have to wait until a later time."

"You call it a Soul Harvester." Cinder said, "How does extracting their souls help us?"

The murloc opened his mouth, but once again descended into a coughing fit, Cinder's eyebrow twitched in irritation, and it took all of her will not to strike the foul creature.

"We shall extract their souls as you say… my brethren are rather… single minded… this benefits us in that when we extract their souls, there will be several thoughts that will be burning at the forefront."

"And one of those will be what they're after."

The murloc smiled and nodded, "This of course, will not be instantaneous, I will require some time in order to sift through the information… your task will be to make sure that I am not interrupted; and it would be helpful if at the time of the extraction you aided in preventing any… zealous martyrdom that my kin are so inclined to perform."

Cinder frowned, but nodded her assent, "When can you begin?" she inquired.

Mul'dan chuckled and stepped forward, a green rune etched itself underneath his feet as his hands glowed with fel magics, "Now…" and suddenly ghostly green flames flew from his hands into the central rune. The rune emitted a piercing wail and leashes of green energy shot into each of the murlocs in the cages, there was a collective cry from the captives and their struggles intensified as the leashes went taut.

Cinder watched in fascination as a murloc nearby began attempting to brain itself against the cage bars, slamming its forehead over and over into the iron that held it, she waved her hand and two Beowolves walked over and grabbed the prisoner through the bars and restrained it. Mul'dan grunted his approval and he waved his hands and he let loose a hoarse shout as he yanked with both of his hands. Blue light erupted around the clearing and the leashes pulled back into the center, Cinder could see at each end a wisp of blue light and she saw that every one of the murlocs had fallen still, the light dimmed from their eyes.

She watched as Mul'dan frowned in concentration, his eyes glazed over, and she saw ghostly images flash across his eyes. She sighed and directed her Grimm to guard the area; they would see to the warlock's protection, and inform her when this ritual was complete. She refused to wait upon this… fish-man like some kind of servant. She stalked away, glad to escape from the presence of the foul warlock. She smiled as she approached the metal encrusted form of Cardin, who was sitting on the ground, staring blankly into the distance. While her control over the Grimmdar was non-existent, the murloc had seen fit to allow her to wield the former Hunter. She had studied all she could about the control bond, and now she was free to use this… thing. Her eyes blazed in anticipation, Mul'dan had warned her about attempting to engage Illidan and his followers while they weakened the murlocs… but Ruby and her companions were under no such protection. She smiled as she approached the giant, who was kneeling, awaiting orders, "Oh Cardin…" the giant's eyes fixed on her, "be a dear and destroy Ruby and her friends won't you?"

The creature roared and leapt to its feet; it thundered past her and Grimm dodged away from under its pounding feet as it ran off towards the forest. Cinder smiled and turned to the Grimmdar that her Grimm had been able to secure for her, it had cost many of their lives, but she needed more specimens if she was going to discover how to wrest control of HER Grimm from this foul murloc. "And as for you…" she purred, "let's get acquainted, shall we?" red energy poured from her fingers and the Grimmdar screamed.


	6. Chapter 6

Jaune panted as he tried to keep up with the champion; Pyrrha moved over to run alongside him.

"We're getting close to the murloc camps, we should slow down and start sneaking."

Jaune gasped out an assent, and with an effort of will, he sprinted alongside the galloping skeletal steed the champion rode on. The champion looked down at him and frowned,

"We… are getting… close… to the… place… just stop… _please._ " Jaune gasped as he ran.

The champion pulled on the reins and his mount reared before stopping in place. Jaune leaned over, hands on his knees and he caught his breath for a few seconds before letting out a deep breath.

"We need to start going in quiet," he explained, "that way we can avoid attention until we see our target."

The champion's expression brightened and he jumped to the ground, his mount disappearing into thin air before Jaune's bewildered eyes. "Oh cool, you guys know some trash skips?"

Jaune stared at the empty space where the skeleton horse had stood, "Trash…. What?"

Pyrrha elbowed him sharply, "Oh yeah, trash skips… yeah we know how to skip trash."

"Alright," the champion gripped his staff, "lead the way then."

Jaune looked uncertainly to Pyrrha, who shrugged slightly and gestured to proceed. He crouched down and began moving cautiously through the underbrush, a few minutes in, he stopped in front of a thick hedge.

"Alright," he whispered, "we should be getting close, our target should be just beyond this brush." pushing aside the branches, he pushed forward slightly, and stopped abruptly.

He had misjudged the depth of the underbrush, and he was now looking out into the clearing, fully exposed. A deafening silence filled the clearing as a horde of fishy eyes blinked slowly at him.

He turned his head to face his team, their eyes were wide as they stared into the clearing. For a while, everything froze as the two sides considered one another, a single cricket chirped; then suddenly one of the murlocs raised the war cry and they rushed forward in a wave.

Jaune barely had time to raise his weapons into a fighting stance before they were on him, his next few minutes were a blur. Ducking, dodging, blocking with his shield; and very occasionally sinking his blade into murloc flesh.

Suddenly he felt something slice into his side and he let out a gasp as he slammed the offending murloc with his shield, sending it spinning. His knees buckled and he wheezed, and he clutched feebly at the gaping wound, feeling the blood pumping past his fingers.

Abruptly a strange sensation came over him, it felt like a breezed traveled straight down his spine and into his side; abruptly, the bleeding stop, and the skin beneath his fingers felt seamless. He blinked and looked blearily down at his uninjured side, blood still caked on his hand.

"Geez, pop some more defensives… also, your trash skips suck." the champion groused behind him as he waved his staff through the air. Jaune's vision was abruptly filled with light, and when he could see again, he saw a group of murlocs lying scorched in a pile a few paces away from the champion, who turned his gaze critically to Jaune, "C'mon tank, grab the adds… geez."

It took a moment for Jaune to realize he was talking to him; "huh, oh right." he turned back to the mass of murlocs in front of him. Suddenly there was a single garbled cry that rang clearly through the air. The murlocs all halted, stock still; then suddenly the all drew back as one. They did so calm and collected, their savage ferocity absent, a few dodged a few parting blows that Nora sent their way, laughing delightedly at seeing her foes retreating.

Ren walked over to her, dodged past an errant hammer strike, and put his hand on her shoulder, restraining her from bolting after them.

"What?! I have like… forty-two more to go until I get a high score!" then she noticed that team JNPR were all staring straight ahead and she followed their gaze.

In front of them were murlocs, but none like they had seen before, they slightly taller than Jaune, and were covered in a strange metal that shone in the daylight. One walked forward, and Jaune heard a whirring sound that echoed throughout the clearing, and suddenly, the creature's chest opened to reveal… a blue murloc, its arms and legs extended throughout what Jaune now realized was some kind of mechanical suit.

It raised an arm and pointed at them, and Jaune was shocked to hear it speak their language "I challenge one of you to single combat, as is my duty as a champion of my people." it regarded them imperiously.

"It does realize that we can't understand it right?" Ren said as he looked to Pyrrha, "what should we do?"

Jaune frowned, "Wait… you guys can't understand it?"

The rest of Team JNPR slowly turned to him; "You mean… you… can?" Pyrrha asked slowly.

Jaune's heart dropped as he realized that the murloc wasn't speaking their language.

"Uhhh… yeah… whenever I hear him speak, I hear him like he's speaking in our language." he said.

Pyrrha frowned, "Uhhh… okay… so what does he want."

"He wants to challenge one of us to single combat, he said something about being a champion of his people." Jaune's eyes widened, "hey you don't think that's Murkgill do you?"

Pyrrha shrugged; "how should I know, you're the one who can apparently understand them."

Mentally, Jaune shrugged, you know what… what the hell. He turned to the murloc in the mech suit, who was currently waiting with an imperious air.

"Hey… would you be Murkgill by any chance?"

The murloc raised its head, looking at Jaune disdainfully, "Knave! Thou darest omit my proper title? I am General Murkgill, of the Green-Brown Swirly Egg! I am the commander of the Fifth Flipper of the MRRGGGLLL Vanguard!"

Jaune turned to his team, "Uhhh…. Ssooo basically, that was a 'yes'."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, "That sounded _significantly_ more than a 'yes', what else did it say?"

"Uhhh…" Jaune looked back to the murloc, who glared back at him; "you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Ren frowned, "So wait… so what kind of terms does he offer in this single combat thing?"

Jaune shook his head, "Good question, uhh…." he turned back to the waiting murloc.

"Hey…. uh…. General Murkgill." it nodded slightly, "So uh… what do we get if we win this duel?"

"Name thy terms villain, it matters not. You shall be smote by mine blade of righteousness." his hand dropped to his side and he pulled out out a metallic black bar. Jaune had just enough time to think that it didn't look particularly impressive, when suddenly two lights shot out of the ends of the bar. They solidified into two humming bars of light, the murloc twirled it and struck a tree on either side of him, before dissipating the lights once more. The two trees creaked and groaned, and then fell to the ground, scorch marks sizzled where the strange blades had cut.

"Uhhh…. So he says whatever we want." Jaune gulped.

"So basically we would get to challenge Morgl, and then presumably leave peacefully." Pyrrha said, her eyes fixed on the murloc's strange weapon, "we just have to beat the murloc in the mech suit with the light sword thing."

"Uhhhh… pretty much…" Jaune said, his mouth dry.

"Okay great no problem." Pyrrha murmured, she stepped forward, "I'll do it, my Semblance will give me an advantage… accept his challenge Jaune."

Jaune swallowed nervously, then turned to address the murloc, "We have selected our champion."

Murkgill eyed Pyrrha, before nodding approvingly, "State thy demands," he commanded Jaune.

Jaune nodded, "Uh… we demand that should we win, we gain the privilege to challenge Morgl, and should we defeat him; that we be allowed to depart in peace."

The murloc warlord threw back his head and laughed, "So, thee wish to throw thyself from certain doom to certain doom? Very well! Should I emerge victorious, all of you shall be slain in the manner of our choosing; your ends shall be quite the merry game." the suit whirred once more and the chest closed. The murloc activated his light blades; stepping forward, he flourished it and then dropped into a fighting stance.

"So… he says that if you lose then we all die; so uh…" he gulped nervously, "don't lose…"

Pyrrha smiled and rolled her eyes, "Jaune, you really have to work on your motivational speeches."

She stepped forward, eyeing her opponent warily as she too lowered herself into a fighting stance, bouncing loosely on the balls of her feet.

The two stood there, eyeing their opponent; everything was silent, as though the whole world was holding its breath.

Suddenly Murkgill let out a warcry and Pyrrha responded in kind, "Trýpa oikópedo, áskopo thánato!" and they rushed towards each other. They exchanged a flurry of blows and then backed off, eyeing each other, looking for a weakness. Murkgill gave a salute with his blades, and Pyrrha responded in kind; a sigh of approval ran through the audience and Jaune looked nonplussed at the murlocs. They were watching the fight with rapt attention, their eyes fixated on the two fighters. Pyrrha and Murkgill threw themselves at each other once more, and when they parted, there was a dent in the murlocs armor where Pyrrha had struck a blow; Jaune clenched his fist, a fierce grin on his face. There was a small cheer in the crowd and he looked over at the murlocs, a thought came unbidden to his mind; that he would have to praise the loser after the fight.

That thought made him pause; this was kind of a fight to the death, there wasn't going to be talking to the loser afterward.

Yet the thought wouldn't go away; a glimpse of an egg flashed before his mind's eye, slowly the thought faded away and he shook his head and shrugged. This had just been a very, very strange day. He looked over at the fight, Murkgill was obviously on the back foot… flipper.

Even as he watched, Pyrrha struck twice in quick succession, the first strike collided heavily with one of the murloc's blades, and the murloc was unable to bring the weapon around in time to block the second, and it struck hard and deep into its midsection.

The murloc fell heavily to his knees, but even as he did so, his final words rang clearly, "Twas well fought maiden, I wish I could have seen your fight with Morgl, it will be a fight of legend." and with that he fell to the side and was still. There was silence in the clearing, suddenly the champion walked up to Murkgill's body and began rummaging around until he found the murloc's deactivated blade.

"Alright! This would be awesome for my off-spec." he leered at the weapon, suddenly he pulled out a pair of dice and rolled them on the ground.

He looked up expectantly at team JNPR; who collectively stared at him. He looked confused then beamed, "Sweet! No one else rolling?"

Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably, "It just doesn't seem right to steal from his corpse… he was an honorable warrior."

The champion rolled his eyes, "Look if you don't want it, then just don't roll, I don't need this RP crap." he pocketed the bar in his cloak, Pyrrha looked like she was about to protest when Jaune spoke, "I mean… to be fair Pyrrha; he was an honorable warrior that also happened to lead an invasion of our world that has killed a lot of people."

Pyrrha winced slightly, "I guess you're right." she turned her gaze to the watching murlocs. One of the other murlocs in mech suits approached them, "Congratulations on your triumph maiden." he said, his voice distorted by the speakers in his suit; "we shall now lead you to Morgl so that you may challenge him in righteous combat." he turned and began walking stiffly through the crowd, who parted silently to let him pass.

Jaune gestured, "It sounds like he's going to be leading us to Morgl."

Pyrrha let out a deep breath, "Well alright… then I guess we'd better follow him; let's go meet Morgl." and Team JNPR followed the murloc into the forest.

* * *

Ruby pushed through the undergrowth, and peered into the clearing beyond. "All clear," she whispered back to her team. Team RWBY cautiously moved forward, checking their surroundings cautiously, "This doesn't seem right…" whispered Blake, "when we originally encountered the murlocs; they were crawling around everywhere we looked… where have they all gone?"

"It is how murlocs conduct war," explained Maiev, "the initial wave is their new and inexperienced warriors; they are simply eager to claim honor and glory. Now that they have claimed a foothold, their leaders will be controlling their movements now; organizing them."

Yang frowned, "I thought they were just mindless beasts."

Maiev nodded to her, "It is not an entirely wrong assumption. From what we have been able to ascertain, the average murloc is a nearly mindless engine of destruction. My people thought much as you did; that was before we aware of the knights and shamans however."

"What makes them different?" asked Blake as she ducked under a branch.

Maiev was quiet for a moment, "Murloc society appears to be broken into different castes; we are not aware exactly what makes them divide in this fashion. However, we do know that they show increased intelligence and power. The knights use a kind of… armor… that is unfamiliar to us; it makes them faster and stronger, as well as offering high amounts of protection. They also wield blades of light that cut with ease and appear to be unbreakable themselves. They tend to be in charge of the military matters; the shamans are powerful beings that can call upon the very elements of the world to destroy their enemies, although they appear to be more advisors than warriors."

"So more intelligent, more powerful, they're just kind of bad news, got it." said Yang.

Maiev nodded, "There are theories that there is another caste; no one knows who creates the armor and weapons that they wield. Their make indicates something a little more than they should be capable of creating, however these theories are so far unconfirmed; be cautious and do not underestimate them."

The woman stopped abruptly; and stood stock still, as though listening for something, Zwei bared his teeth and began to growl.

"There is something coming, prepare yourselves maidens!" she pulled out her glaives and dropped into a combat stance.

Yang frowned, "I don't hear anythi-." suddenly the entire ground trembled, "uhhh… okay never mind, I _felt_ that."

Team RWBY drew their weapons and stood back to back, eyes scanning their surroundings as the trembling grew stronger and stronger.

Suddenly the light faded and a giant shadow fell over them, as one they looked up in dread to see a giant metal clad monster leering down over them. It roared and raised a massive fist; "Team RWBY!" screamed Ruby, "DOODDGGGEE!" they darted out of the way and the block of metal slammed into the ground, creating a small crater where it landed.

"Now Team RWBY... attack!" she yelled and they charged at the behemoth. The fist the size of a small hill filled Ruby's vision as it swept low along the ground; coming straight at her. She leaped and fired Crescent Rose to propel her higher, she fired again to alter her trajectory and landed lightly on the thing's arm. She yelped as she felt the heat from the thing through her boots, "Ow! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" she squealed as she ran up the arm towards the giant's face. She drew back Crescent Rose and with a leap; swept in a vicious arc across the thing's neck. She felt the impact reverberate through her arms, and her eyes widened as it embedded a few inches into the thing's skin. She looked up to see the thing grinning malevolently at her, it made a clumsy grab at her, which she narrowly avoided by swinging upward to stand on top of her scythe's handle.

This close to the thing's face, Ruby could feel the heat washing over her; it glared at her and roared; suddenly it recoiled and gave out a loud groan.

She looked down to see Yang running up the metal monster's chest, grinning fiercely, "I found a weak spot!" she yelled.

"Wait to go Yang!" she replied, "Where is it?"

Yang's grinned widened, "Down low." she said simply

Ruby's jaw dropped, "Really? You punched a metal monster in the nuts?"

Yang stuck out her tongue as she ran past, "Hey if it works!"

The monster reared back its head and roared; steam shot out of its skin and Ruby just barely leapt off of the creature in time to avoid being seared alive. She fired Crescent Rose to slow her descent, landing softly on the ground.

"My weapons aren't hurting it!" yelled Blake.

"Speak for yourself!" Yang grinned.

"Ummm... Yang? I think you made it mad…" Ruby said and she pointed to the creature.

It was convulsing and changing before their eyes, the skin that had been gray was now transforming and changing into a rocky black carapace that was expanding and growing before their eyes like some kind of fungus. The thing's face was now completely obscured, with only the green flames bellowing forth from where its eyes glared at them showing.

"Uhhh… alright then, so frontal assault isn't really working out that well… plan B?" Blake looked at her teammates.

Maiev stepped forward, "I have seen these things before… but never have I seen one slain, we should flee before we are destroyed."

"And just let this thing run rampant?" Yang yelled back, "There's gotta be a way."

Ruby looked around the clearing, then suddenly her eyes widened, "Wait… you said that the murlocs had beaten these guys before right?"

Maiev frowned at her, "Yes…"

Ruby nodded, "Alright… Team RWBY! We have to lure this thing to the murlocs."

Blake stared at her, "You know what? That sounds like other plans." she turned her gaze to the rock clad behemoth in front of them.

"Hey! Rock-for-brains! Come and get me!" she waved her hands at the monster, whose eyes flared and with a roar, raised its massive fists overhead, casting a massive shadow over them.

"RUNNN!" Ruby screamed, and the members of Team RWBY darted out of the way.

Maiev ran alongside Ruby, "Fortunately our task should not be difficult… the murlocs should have heard the sounds of our battle."

"Is there any way that we can make them more interested?" Ruby asked the woman.

Maiev seemed to consider that for a moment, then she nodded, "I have in my possession a magical artifact that the demons have used in the past to bait the murlocs into traps. I believe I can use it to lure them here. The problem is that I must remain in contact with it while it is transmitting, which means they will be attracted to me, rather than just the demon's creation."

Ruby let out a deep breath, then nodded, "Alright, I guess we'll worry about the army of angry murlocs after the giant metal monster is dead."

Maiev pulled out a blue pendant; she murmured slightly, then blew on it; a strange whisper tickled Ruby's ear that sounded like it was in the strange babblings of the murloc language. Then nothing, she frowned at it.

Maiev put it away and nodded to her, "It is done, they will come."

* * *

Jaune and the rest of Team JPNR was walking along, occasionally looking from side to side; looking at the large crowd of murlocs that were complacently walking beside them. Their combined footsteps made a low rumble that was the only noise that filled the forest.

Jaune stiffened as out of nowhere something whispered down his spine and into his ear; a single phrase entered his mind. He stopped, blinking in confusion; he shook his head, and then he frowned when he saw that the murloc horde had halted as well. The sound started low, first one murloc, then another… soon the entire forest was shaking underneath an outraged roar; and without warning the entire horde turned to the left and charged forward in a wave, knocking over trees in their haste and fervor. Jaune's shot up and a red mist came over his eyes; the next thing he knew, he was struggling wildly in Pyrrha's arms. His ears were pounding and a stream of unintelligible madness was pouring from his mouth. Nora walked up to him and slapped him once… twice… then everything was clear; his cheeks burning where she had struck him. He went limp, and Pyrrha slowly lowered him to the ground, her eyes wide with concern.

"Jaune? Jaune? Speak to me! What's wrong?" she pleaded.

Jaune shook his head and let out a slow breath, his spines slowly lowering themselves as he gathered his thoughts. "Something… came over me… I don't know what happened?"

"Them too.." Ren nodded to the swathe of destruction that the murlocs had left in their wake.

Pyrrha nodded and turned back to him, "Do you have any idea what made them go berserk like that?"

Jaune frowned, remembering the strange whisper that had inserted itself into his mind, "Right before… that happened… I heard something, almost like something had whispered to me, it said a single sentence to me then I… well… that happened."

Pyrrha frowned, "What did it say?"

Jaune turned to her, "Over easy please."

The group was quiet for a moment, then Nora burst out laughing, "So that's it? We just tell them how we want our eggs cooked and that's it? They go berserk?" she snorted with laughter.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes at her, "Obviously there's something that we're missing; regardless; it looks like there's something up ahead," she pointed and Jaune followed her finger to see a large hut in the distance, blue light poured forth from its entrance; "I'm assuming that's where they were guiding us, we should see if Morgl's still there." she offered an outstretched hand, which Jaune took gratefully and got back on his feet, brushing himself off.

"Alright team, let's go get him," the rest of the team murmured assent and began walking toward the structure.

"This is one weird dungeon," said the champion, "there'd better be an achievement."

* * *

Ruby desperately dodged out from underneath the rapidly descending arm just in time; it slammed into the ground, causing it to shake violently. She grimaced and fired Crescent Rose, getting back into the treetops and quickly began leaping from branch to branch as fast as she could.

Over the sound of the giant's progress, she heard a strange noise; she frowned and looked to the direction it was coming from and her eyes widened as she watched several trees suddenly fall over as if they had been run over by something. The noise became louder, and slowly it turned into a deafening roar.

"Here they come! Get clear maidens!" Maiev screamed at them, she leapt into the air and threw the softly glowing pendant at the monstrosity before twisting out of the way of a blow.

A few seconds later murlocs shot out of the undergrowth as though shot from a cannon, flinging themselves at the juggernaut. It roared as it batted these aside; sending them flying.

Then the horde arrived.

The trees in the way were simply bowled over and the creatures moved forward in a wave; slamming into the giant; sending it toppling. They stabbed at the monster; their weapons breaking and shattering upon its hardened skin.

Ruby saw a light wink out of the corner of her eye; and she turned her gaze upward; just in time to see mech suits diving from the sky; wielding strange blades of light. They swarmed over the giant's fallen form and it roared, its metallic voice full of pain. The ground shuddered as the thing's arm detached from its body as the mechanized warriors slashed savagely at it.

Ruby continued to watch in horrified fascination as they continued to dismember it; piece by piece the behemoth was torn apart; its roars and movements growing more and more feeble.

Suddenly there was a tug on her sleeve and she jumped, she turned to see Blake; who tugged on her again. "C'mon! We need to get out of here, remember?"

Ruby shook herself and nodded, unable to speak, and the two ran into the forest.

Major Bergll of the Blue-Striped, Green Bodied Egg looked up from the punishing of the blaspheming Mrggrlrlgl, to see two figures dart into the underbrush. He frowned slightly, while the sacrilegious words in question had come from this location; there was no guarantee that it was this foul being from which they originated. He considered the issue, it was better, he decided to err on the side of caution. He slammed his blade on the back of the head of one of his subordinates, who snapped to attention.

"Lieutenant Krrrmggllrr, there are two knaves that doth flee the scene of this profane utterance; ensure that they too are dealt justice according to the misdeed."

The Lieutenant bowed deeply, "Aye, it shall be done my lord." he broke off from the giant's destruction and rounded up several of his brethren before giving chase, their battle cry echoing throughout the forest.

Ruby had been running for a few minutes before she heard the sound of the murlocs giving chase behind them.

"Oh gosh," she said, the image of the fallen giant clear in her mind, "oh gosh, oh gosh."

Maiev glanced behind them, her face grim, "We shall have soon have to turn on our pursuers, once murlocs have the scent, they are loath to give up the chase."

Blake nodded calmly, "just say the word."

Yang frowned, "Um… what is that?" she asked, pointing to the side.

Maiev's gaze turned and her eyes widened, "Follow me maidens! Quickly!" she darted off in that direction. Ruby's eyes followed her movement and saw a strange sign on which there was a crudely painted fishing hook.

She and the rest of her team passed by Maiev, who had stopped and was calmly waiting a few steps behind the strange sign. Ruby stopped as well and turned to the night elf, "What are you doing? C'mon!"

Maiev waved a hand to her, her gaze fixated on rapidly approaching murloc, one of the strange mech suits at their head. Abruptly the murlocs came crashing to a halt, their strange eyes fixed on the sign; they hissed savagely at the group; but to Ruby's astonishment they slowly drew back, fading back into the forest.

Maiev nodded once, and calmly turned around, her eyes flicked about the surrounding forest.

"Why did they stop chasing us?" Ruby asked, still unable to comprehend what she had seen.

Maiev pointed at the sign, "The fishing hook is a sign of great peril for the murlocs, it is to warn them that there is a threat there and should not be entered."

"Sooo… that means they're too scared to come in here? What could they be so afraid of?" Yang asked.

Maiev stepped forward, pushing aside the brush in her path, Ruby saw her back stiffen, and the night elf slowly motioned for them to follow her as she stepped into the clearing.

Ruby swallowed nervously as she followed her; and her eyes widened in shock as she looked into the clearing beyond.

Murloc bodies were everywhere, the ground so covered that not a single blade of grass could be seen. In some places they were stacked on top of each other, their faces stuck in twisted snarls and screams.

The group was silent for a moment, "What could have done this?" whispered Ruby.

Suddenly Blake let out a startled cry and walked rapidly over and picked up a single piece of cloth, she held it up to the others so that they could see.

It was a piece of white cloth, made of a fine material… exactly like… "That looks like that came from Weiss' dress!" Ruby exclaimed, "she was here!"

Maiev frowned as she considered that, "It is unlikely the murlocs would have taken her away, they do not generally keep prisoners. Her body is not here either, so she did not fall in this battle; however that means…"

"That means whatever the murlocs were afraid of could have gotten her." Blake finished.

Ruby stamped her foot, "C'mon guys! We're so close! We can't give up now." she postured heroically and dramatically pointed into the distance, "Team RWBY! Move out!"

* * *

Cinder walked along the line of gathered Grimm, her spirits high. By studying Mul'dan's foul magic, she had been able to find ways to improve her own Grimm beyond anything she had imagined possible. However, whereas Mul'dan had focussed on sheer size and power, she had focussed more on innate abilities. She stopped before a winged specimen that had previously been a normal Nevermore and smiled. The bird blinked at her; then it reared back its head and screamed, a vortex of red energy emerged, rising high into the sky and casting a red glow over its upturned face. She nodded and it closed its beak, ending the stream; it bowed its head slightly to her and settled back on its clawed feet.

She stiffened as a voice spoke in her mind, "Come… I have found that which we speak… time is short." the voice was unmistakenly Mul'dan's. She cursed and waved her hand, dismissing the assembled Grimm; she whistled and a Beowolf ran to her side. She leapt onto its ridged back and her surroundings blurred as it ran impossibly fast. It's loping gait eating up kilometers at a time; it skidded to a halt and she leapt lightly off its back. Mul'dan was sitting, meditating on the ground, behind him, the Soul Cage was silent, and two Grimmdar were removing the dried husks of the murlocs that had been contained within.

She walked up to the silent warlock, stopped a few paces in front of him and waited silently. The murloc's eyes opened, and it considered her for a time, then his gaze turned to the horizon, "I have found the item that my brethren seek…" he paused, "the sheer audacity of what they mean to attempt is extraordinary. I do not know whether to be in awe… or struck dumb by the insanity." he fell silent. His demeanour was troubled, and Cinder took delight in the rare moment of weakness shown by the warlock.

He looked up at her, his eyes glinting; Cinder bowed her head, quickly making sure her expression was vacant. The murloc erupted into another one of his coughing fits; and Cinder patiently waited until it was over before she spoke. "So just what is it that they are seeking?" she asked.

Mul'dan stood up, leaning against his staff for support, "They seek a core component of your world… they intend to use it to alter the very threads of this reality in their own image… a feat that could very well destroy the universe if there is but a single misstep." he looked to her, "Is there anywhere you can think of that could contain such a thing. Anywhere that anyone is afraid to go, a place where a fearsome guardian resides that none can overcome?"

Cinder thought for a moment then nodded, and she smiled, "I believe that I know just the place." she purred.

* * *

Ozpin sat at his desk; his face buried in his hands; scattered before him were reports from the front line. The first assault had been disastrous; they had utterly underestimated the sheer savagery of these… murlocs; Qrow had called them. He lifted his head to look again at the letter that Qrow had sent in, it read like the ravings of a madman… alien creatures; self-inflicted mutations. However, despite how crazy it sounded; it could not be dismissed; he picked it up and read the line again, 'these things apparently are after something called the Fragments of Origination. I've always trusted you Oz… but I know that you've kept things from me… from everyone. I would just ask that if you know what this thing is; keep it safe.'

Ozpin's hands shook as he read and re-read it obsessively; finally it dropped limply from his grasp. He readjusted his spectacles and took a deep breath, Qrow was not wrong… and he thought he knew quite well what they were after. There was much to do; but most importantly… he picked up the sheet that he had been puzzling over night and day since the initial reports came in. On it was listed a group of names; he drew a line from one to the other, then shook his head and erased it. That one just made no sense… he had to get this right… the very fate of Remnant depended on it. His head dipped in despair as the weight of the world descended upon his shoulders.

He shook himself with a curse and made another line; he could not fail, would not fail. There was no other option; he looked at the connection then nodded sharply, he pulled another sheet of paper; this one too had a line of names, however it was a much shorter list than the one he currently held. He wrote down two words, a single letter, and a question mark; he leaned back and read it back to himself, "'Velvet x Illidan?'" he whispered.


	7. Chapter 7

Jaune halted right outside the door to the strange hut; he looked to his team, pointed at the door; then held up five fingers.

They nodded and took up positions flanking the door; Jaune slowly ticked down his fingers and finally made a fist before slamming down the door; letting out his war scream.

Which cut off abruptly as he fell down a tunnel that sloped downward in the center of the room. He tumbled head over heels; bouncing along the rough dirt, before finally slowing to a stop. He lay there for a few moments; blinking past the dust caused by his journey down.

"Jaune!" He was vaguely aware as Pyrrha gracefully slid down to a stop next to him; "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine." he said; wincing slightly as he got back on his feet. He looked up to see Nora gleefully sliding down the slope; Ren followed calmly with the champion in tow.

Pyrrha frowned and she pointed behind him; Jaune turned to see the tunnel stretched as far as he could see. He let out a deep breath; "Alright then, let's go see where it leads." he looked to the others, "Unless anybody else has a better idea?" he asked. They were silent as Jaune led them forward, following the twisting tunnel deeper into the earth.

They had walked for about half an hour when they came across three branching paths; the team halted; staring at the wooden signs that had been driven into the dirt in front of them.

"I can't honestly make heads or tails of what these could mean…" Pyrrha said uncertainly. She stepped forward to more closely inspect a sign that had a crude hook painted on it.

"Wait!" shouted Jaune; Pyrrha halted and turned to him. Jaune swallowed nervously; aware that everyone's gaze had locked onto him. "That's uh… basically a 'don't go here' sign…" As if to accentuate his point; a deep rumbling roar echoed throughout the cavern from the tunnel.

"Right… not that way." Ren stated, he turned to Jaune, "So fearless leader… where to then?"

Jaune looked between the final two signs; one had the picture of a strange shadowy being and the other an egg with what appeared to be a sword. "Uhhh…", Jaune looked back and forth between the two signs. Finally he pointed at the one with the being, "Okay, so I know this sounds crazy; but I'm getting a good feeling from this one."

His companions looked skeptically at the ominous painting.

"All right," Pyrrha said, forced cheer in her voice, "After all, how bad could it be?"

She wilted visibly as everyone turned to stare at her.

"Let's find out," Ren muttered and he stepped into the tunnel and the rest of the team silently filed in behind him.

* * *

Ruby picked her way carefully through the forest; despite her earlier bravado, she was tense, her heart leaping at every little sound. Whatever the murderous monsters that had invaded Remnant had found so fearsome that they wouldn't even venture into its territories had to be terrifying.

Images of huge dragons, tentacled beings, and all other sorts of monstrosities flashed across her mind's eye. She gripped her scythe tight as they approached the entrance to another clearing. She nearly let out a scream when Blake suddenly grabbed her shoulder.

"Ruby…" she said and she pointed at a small stone that was off to the side of the path.

Ruby looked closer and frowned slightly, "Is there something written on that stone?"

Yang leaned forward and nodded, "Yeah, I think so." she walked through the underbrush and bent over to examine it. After a while she turned and waved to Ruby and Blake, "It's hers!" Ruby dashed over beside her half-sister as she read the inscription aloud.

"'Here lies a man who, though crude in manner and speech, was nevertheless a great warrior; he saved my life and I shall carry out his mission and use all that he has taught me. Here I leave Myrtenaster behind, and instead take up Blackhand Doomsaw; in order to exact vengeance upon those that cut him down. He shall at least have chicken'?" Yang finished, her brows furrowed in confusion.

Blake walked behind the stone and bent down; when she rose, she held Weiss' weapon in one hand… and what appeared to be a bucket of stale fried chicken in the other.

"Ooookkkaayyy." Ruby said, an eyebrow raised; then she shook herself, "Guys! Don't you know what this means? Weiss is alive!" she yelled, "C'mon, she can't be far!" she dashed through the brush and into the clearing, then stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the sight before her.

Just like at the entrance, there were murlocs in piles, however this time they were all grouped around a single location, and there, lying in shattered pieces… were eggs; there had to be hundreds. The murlocs were piled around them; marking the sites of doomed last stands.

"By Mother Moon…" Maiev whispered, her eyes wide, she walked up to one of the shattered eggs and knelt beside it. "We've always suspected, but… to my knowledge, no one has ever seen an actual murloc egg and lived to tell the tale… they protect them fiercely."

"No joke." Yang remarked as her gaze swept around the clearing, "Why doesn't this place smell?" she asked.

Maiev pointed at the egg, "From what we have gathered; murloc eggs resemble traditional eggs in little other than appearance. They are more of a mystical construct than they are a biological one. We know little about the process, but we believe that murlocs will essentially keep emerging from the eggs until they are destroyed." she looked around the clearing then pointed at a small stone structure. "It appears as though they created a portal here, there may have been a malfunction with the initial portal that deposited the eggs here. They likely constructed that in order to transport them to a safer location. They would have killed anything within a few miles in order to keep these safe; your friend and the fallen warrior must have wandered too close."

"How likely is it that they were the reason that this place was marked as dangerous?" Blake asked.

Maiev considered the destruction around them, then nodded sharply, "It is highly possible; they likely would have sent an entire Flipper to protect these; the loss of so many warriors would have made them cautious at the very least."

"We'll keep looking then," declared Ruby as she walked back over to the stone; she placed her hand on it, "Whoever you were, thank you for helping Weiss." she whispered, "I only wish that I could have thanked you in person."

She shouldered her scythe and turned back to her team, her eyes bright with determination, "Team RWBY! Move out!" 

* * *

Team JNPR walked for a few minutes more down the tunnel, until they saw a plain wooden door ahead. Jaune looked to his team and nodded sharply, he turned back to the door; he drew back his shoulder and drove it into the wood, attempting to smash it down. He blinked in shock as he simply bounced backward; slamming into the ground and leaving a small divot. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his head; he looked up to see Pyrrha offering him a hand.

"You just haven't had a lot of luck with doors today, Jaune." she remarked as she pulled him to his feet. Jaune looked at the door just in time to see Nora's hammer fly at his face, he fell backward just in time to avoid it decapitating him. He shot back up, his eyes wide, Nora waved at him with a sheepish grin on her face.

"So uh…. I decided to try to take down the door with my hammer and it may have just kinda… bounced off." she walked over to retrieve it. The team stared at the wooden door, which stood unfazed.

"So… any ideas?" Pyrrha asked finally.

"Ooo… ooo… let me smack it with my hammer again!" Nora said, raising her hand.

"I don't want to have to play 'dodge the hammer' again…" Jaune groused.

Nora rolled her eyes, "It won't happen again… promise!"

Ren rolled his eyes, walked up to the door and knocked twice. After a short pause, the door swung silently open; he looked at the others, a single eyebrow raised.

"Well…. I guess that works." Pyrrha said, her gaze fixed suspiciously on the open doorway.

Jaune let out a slow breath as he followed Ren and Pyrrha through the doorway. He blinked at the sudden light and when his vision recovered, his jaw dropped open.

The room was massive, the ceiling extending into a massive dome far above their heads; around the room were massive pits in the floor that were filled to the brim with bright colorful objects of a myriad of colors.

A voice echoed throughout the room, "If you wouldn't mind, stand still for a few moments while I adjust the wards… or else you're liable to spread your innards across the eggs."

Jaune froze in place, one foot still slightly raised.

"Well you can put your foot down at least, Deep Mother knows all that will happen is that you'll topple over and then where will we be hmm?"

Jaune let his foot down with a sigh of relief and his gaze flickered around the room for the source of the voice. A slight, robed figure stepped into view, a face that Jaune might have described as old and kindly had it not been attached to a creature whose fellows had been ravaging his world for the past few weeks looked up at them.

The figure waved a gnarled wooden staff and murmured some words under his breath. Jaune felt a great weight lift off his shoulders that he hadn't even noticed had been there; as though a giant had lifted its gaze off of him. He let out a deep breath and watched as the creature stepped forward a few steps, before stopping to lean on his staff; looking over them with large eyes.

"I am Morgl, First Shaman of the Deep," he bowed slightly to them, "I already know who you are, Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren…" he nodded to each of the members of Team JNPR in term. Finally his gaze rest on the champion and his lips curled slightly, "YoloSwaglordxXx." His gaze turned back to Jaune, "We don't have much time, and we have much to discuss, please." he waved his staff and the earth around them shifted and groaned; Jaune watched in shock as forms began to rise out of the ground. The rock twisted and churned before solidifying into crude chairs; Morgl sat back with a sigh and gestured for them to do the same. Jaune turned his gaze to Pyrrha, who shrugged and sat down; Jaune followed her lead and stared at the murloc, waiting for him to speak.

"How much do you know about my kind?" Morgl asked.

Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged a glance, "We know that you invaded our world and attacked us without provocation." Pyrrha replied.

Morgl grunted, "Fair enough." he leaned back and let out a sigh, "I won't make excuses for my kind; should you wish to kill me when I am done; I will accept that, however I will warn you that I have placed a protection over the eggs; should you attempt to do them harm, you will die." his gaze pierced into Jaune's, and the Hunter shivered under its intensity, the murloc continued.

"You would have been told by Illidan that we repelled a Burning Legion invasion of our world." he said, "This is accurate, though, it is unlikely that he is aware of the cost. You see, every world has… a... core." His gaze dropped to the floor, "They… destroyed… our core. Without it, we will wither; becoming shadows of our former selves." he gestured to the champion. "He will have seen the result of this; no Ascension, just savages that are barely better than mindless beasts. To avoid this fate; the knight caste proposed a solution… and it was passed when the engineering caste joined with them in the vote."

He lifted his gaze back to the team, his eyes pained, "Essentially, we would steal another world's core; this is just as difficult as you would think. So we searched for years; looking for a relatively new and easily modified core." he nodded to them, "Yours suited our purposes; so we launched our invasion." his gaze dropped, "However… there is a marked difference in discussing the fate of faceless beings half a universe away; and watching your kinsfolk slaughter everyone in their path." he shook his head, his face bitter, "What they have done is no different than the accursed demons." he murmured; he lifted his gaze upward, and a fire burned in his eyes.

"You have little reason to trust me," he admitted, "but I offer you a way to save both of our peoples. I have examined your world and it is possible to duplicate your core; creating two separate realities where each of us could exist in peace."

Jaune looked to Pyrrha, who to his relief, seemed to be understanding what the murloc was saying; her face thoughtful. Finally she nodded, and stood up; "We have to tell Qrow and the others about this; then we can take you to Ozpin."

Morgl shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid that this… Qrow… is indisposed," he pulled a small bowl out from his robes and set it down on the floor, he waved a hand and a ghostly image appeared in the air before them. 

* * *

Qrow frowned as he examined the fallen murloc before him; the damn thing had come screaming out of the sky at him; he had barely been able to dodge out of the way in time. He kicked at it; frowning as he looked over the creature's strange armor. He let out a low curse; this was probably one of the reasons why Vale's lines had fallen so far back. He looked out over the valley below, where Vale and their Atlesian allies had formed a defensive line. Gunfire and explosives fired out in a constant roar; lights and flashes flared where Hunters and Huntresses unleashed their Semblances upon the foe, it was an impressive sight.

It also wasn't going to be enough.

Everywhere he looked, he saw the creatures threatening to overwhelm the lines; and soon he heard the signal that he knew had been given many times before. There was a sudden burst of gunfire and artillery roared; pushing the murlocs back in a sweep; then the forces turn and ran; falling back to a position a few klicks behind them.

Qrow ground his teeth as he watched the stragglers being overwhelmed, the murlocs swarming over them and stabbing viciously with their crude weaponry. They were giving it all they had; but it just wasn't enough; the enemies' numbers were endless.

He heard a sound behind him and he whirled around, but relaxed when he saw Velvet step out from the shadows.

"Damn girl, you gave me a fright." he said as he sheathed his sword. She said nothing but stepped up beside him to look into the valley, where the battle began raging once more. Qrow frowned at her; the girl had… changed… since the events of the past few weeks. What's more; every night she and Illidan stayed up late into the night; talking about various things. Qrow was worried for her; while the night elf had helped them greatly, he didn't trust him.

He cleared his throat as he looked over the battle, "It's not looking good." he remarked.

She nodded slowly, "Qrow… this… Fragment… do you really think Ozpin knows anything about it?"

Qrow looked at her sharply, then carefully checked over his shoulder; when he was satisfied that he didn't see anyone, he turned back to her.

"Yeah, Ozpin has all kinds of stuff in the vault under the school. If it's not in there; he probably at least knows where it is."

Velvet smiled, "Thank you Qrow," she paused, "Qrow can I ask you something?"

Qrow slowly put his hand to his sword, something in the Faunas girl's tone had alarm bells ringing in his head, "Yeah." he said as casually as he could muster.

"You know that we can't stop them, that… drastic measures… need to be taken. Even if we do win here; the Burning Legion will come… Illidan has told us as much."

Qrow watched her carefully, "Velvet… just what is it that you're planning?"

Velvet turned to him, saw his hand on the hilt of his sword and sighed, "I knew you wouldn't understand," she murmured. 

* * *

Jaune watched in shock as Velvet attacked Qrow viciously; blows raining down on him with blinding speed. Suddenly, Illidan appeared behind him and put something on the Hunter's neck. Qrow dropped to the ground, writhing; before falling still; he stood to his feet, but there was something… off about his movements… too mechanical.

Morgl waved a hand sadly and the image disappeared; "I'm afraid that Illidan has decided that he wishes to re-create this world in his own image." he murmured, "No doubt he wishes to create his own army, now that he's discovered that he can." he nodded to them. "Not all races can undergo such transformations and survive; the fact that none of you perished in the ritual no doubt is what prompted him to make his move."

"But why would Velvet… I mean… she would never." Jaune protested weakly; Pyrrha laid her hand on top of his, cutting him off.

"She's not been the same since her team's death Jaune," she said quietly, "I'm sorry, I should have seen it; stopped Ilidan's influence."

"Not your fault," Ren grunted, "none of us could have predicted… this."

Morgl leaned back in his chair, "They are lost to us," he confirmed, "however, I believe that you may know these people." he waved a hand an image appeared once more, this time of Ruby and her team, who were accompanied by a woman in strange armor.

"It's Ruby! They're okay!" yelled Nora, who gleefully stood up and hugged Ren fiercely, who made strangled protests.

Jaune frowned, "Where's Weiss?" he asked anxiously, looking up to Morgl, who shrugged.

"I can tell you that she is alive, however, little else. Great magic hides her; magic similar to one we called simply, 'The Destroyer'; however, from what I have gathered, he was slain in a great battle on the western side of the forest."

Morgl stood up from his earthen chair, "Should you accept my offer, I will bring you to them, then we must go to this… Ozpin, that was spoken of. We must reach your core before Illidan or my kin can reach it." he held out a wizened hand. "Are we agreed?" he asked.

Jaune turned to Pyrrha, who nodded, "Alright then." Jaune took the creature's hand and clasped it firmly.

"Wait!" the champion roared, "I need the guy's head noob, we got to fight him or else I don't get the reward!"

Morgl frowned and turned to him, "Can I instead offer you my staff? I will allow you to inspect it first."

The champion looked skeptical, but took the staff, when he did, his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. "Wow! This is a legendary! Look at the item level! Hell yeah I'll take it!" He reached into his robes and pulled out the paper that Illidan had given him and tore it in half, letting the pieces fall to the ground. Morgl nodded to him, smiling slightly, "Very well… it is yours then."

The champion lifted up the staff triumphantly, and suddenly golden letters appeared above his head, Jaune had just enough time to read them before the champion disappeared into thin air.

'YoloSwaglordxXx has earned the achievement: Wielder: Waterfury: Blessed Staff of the Waterseeker!'

Jaune looked to Pyrrha, who shrugged, "Personally I'm kinda glad he's gone… he was really weird."

Jaune nodded in agreement, then turned to Morgl, who was waiting patiently, "Alright, take us to them."

Morgl nodded, "All right then, hold on tight." he waved his hand and the air hummed with energy. There was a slight pop and Team JNPR and the murloc disappeared. 

* * *

Illidan looked up sharply and he bared his teeth in a snarl; Velvet looked at him questioningly.

"That accursed champion abandoned that quest… which means either that they failed… or that Morgl was able to convince them to join them." he waved his hand, forestalling Velvet's questions. "It matters not; we shall seize the Fragment long before they arrive; onward!"

The two beat their massive wings hard, urging themselves on to greater speeds; Qrow hung limply from the night elf's grasp; his eyes blank as he stared off into the distance and the three figures flew toward the rapidly approaching form of Beacon Academy. 

* * *

Cinder emerged from the green swirling vortex, coughing and spluttering as she fell to her knees. Mul'dan stepped forward beside her, his eyes bemused as he watched her suffering; finally he leaned forward and placed a single finger upon her back and whispered something under his breath. Cinder let out a wheeze and desperately gasped for air; sucking in huge breaths at a time. Finally she recovered and stood up; brushing the dirt off her leggings and glaring at the murloc; who looked back at her with wide, innocent eyes.

"You said nothing about not breathing in the smog." she growled.

Mul'dan coughed slightly, "I apologize, it must have slipped my mind." he looked around at their darkened surroundings; then lifted up his staff; which began to emit a foul, green light.

They were in a large vault room; pillars spiralled gracefully from the marbled floor, to the ceiling high above their heads. Along the walls were sealed containers that stretched in rows.

"Hmmm… there is great power in this place." Mul'dan murmured as he shuffled forward.

"As I told you, Ozpin has gathered many objects of power within this place, thinking them safe." Cinder replied as her gaze wandered over the room; finally resting on alarge pair of black steel doors. She pointed them out to Mul'dan, "Do you think that might be what we're looking for?" she asked him.

The murloc frowned and walked up to the doors; he lowered his staff and there was a faint rumbling as the staff's glow brightened to the point that Cinder was forced to avert her gaze. There was a cry of triumph from the creature and he leaned forward; the rumbling redoubling in strength.

"Yes… YES! It is HERE!" the warlock cackled madly and Cinder could hear the shriek of metal tearing and twisting. Then suddenly a huge boom echoed throughout the room and the warlock flew back from the door. He slid along the ground; coming to a halt, he shakily rose to his feet; his eyes blazing with fury.

Cinder followed his gaze and her eyes widened as she saw figures silhouetted in the door frame. She felt a shiver go down her spine as she saw Ozpin step forward.

"So… this would be this… Ozpin… you spoke off?" Mul'dan said, leering as Ilidan, Qrow, and Velvet stepped forward as well. The murloc chuckled; and a large, green vortex began swirling to life behind him.

"That would be him, yes." Cinder said; and she thrust her hand behind her; a red vortex began forming there and she grinned as she saw Mul'dan give a start at the sight.

"You shall not step beyond those doors." Ozpin stated with cold certainty, as he flicked his gaze between the two of them. The three demon hunters behind him pulled out their weapons and stepped out to his sides; dropping into combat stances.

"Well then… mortal." Mul'dan sneered, "Let us see how you fare against the power of the Burning Legion!" Giant forms began manifesting from the portal and soon, several of the Grimmdar had stepped forward. Suddenly, the green vortex shuddered and collapsed, fraying into nothing; an unfortunate Grimmdar that had been halfway through gave out a pitiable howl and it collapsed to the ground; its torso writhing obscenely before finally melting away into nothing.

Cinder's eyes snapped to Illidan, who had an outstretched hand pointed at the warlock, a green, nebulous light oozing around it. Cinder smiled and with an effort of will began to call her own pets to join the fray; soon several of her own enhanced Grimm stood behind her. She felt a pressure form in her mind and saw that the night elf had his hand pointed at her now; and smiled as she saw a fierce frown cross his face.

Finally the pressure mounted to the point where her head felt like it was about to split open and she released her hold on the portal; letting it slip away into nothingness.

"What sort of foul sorcery is that?" Illidan growled.

Cinder shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a quick learner." she grinned savagely as she summoned sickly red fire to her hands.

For a time, the two sides stood there; staring at each other; daring the other to make the first move.

Then suddenly Mul'dan bent over and coughed; and all hell broke loose.

"My Heart has joined the Thousand!" Velvet screamed, as she leapt at the warlock; who suddenly stood fully upright with a gleam in his eyes and fired off a glob of oozing green energy at the demon huntress.

"You'll never get my ships!" Ozpin yelled as he charged at Cinder.

"Why is there a sudden shortage of alcoholic beverages?" inquired Qrow politely as he advanced forward against the Grimm.

Illidan rushed forward; wings extended behind him as he flew at the Grimmdar; his mouth opened and let loose a deafening roar;

"YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!"

The night elf stopped dead in his tracks, his arms falling limply by his sides "whoops." he said, a sheepish expression on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

Ruby carefully led her team through the underbrush; dark figures darted around the edges of her vision; but none approached, and whenever she turned to look, the most she saw was spots of light that quickly faded.

"Poor things." Blake whispered behind her. Ruby turned her head to see Blake looking into the woods to the right with a sad expression on her face. The faunas girl noticed her stare and pointed, "These creatures are used to Grimm, but they've never encountered anything like the murlocs. This is probably the only place that's safe for them?"

"Do you think they'll attack us?" Ruby asked her.

It was Maiev who shook her head, "I sense no ill will from the beasts, they are simply judging us to evaluate whether we are a threat as well. They just wish to survive; it is-"

Suddenly she cut off and she went still, she let out a hiss and her head snapped around to stare into the distance. "I sense him!" she whispered fiercely.

"Who?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Illidan! His will finally broke, and all of his illusions are now as dust before my gaze. He is with your uncle and your companion Velvet… as well as a green haired man with spectacles."

"Ozpin?" Blake asked.

"They are in a large hall, they are… they are fighting against that accursed warlock and a woman I do not recognize… they are losing; the woman wields so much power…" suddenly she gasped and she pointed at a spot a short distance away to their left. "Prepare yourselves maidens! Someone is coming!"

Ruby readied her weapon as she stared at the spot that Maiev indicated; she blinked as suddenly a group of figures just appeared. One moment there was no one, the next; there was a circle of five… people… standing in the grass… lowered her rifle, but hesitated… something seemed familiar about them.

"... And therefore in conclusion; a summoning portal as you describe would be quite possible; for, as the Mrrwalg theorem states. The vortex and maintenance thresholds both lower significantly when a denizen of the world in question is the one creating the receiving portal." the short figure explained.

"I have… no idea… what you just said…" one of them admitted; and Ruby gasped as she recognized the voice.

"Jaune!" she called out and she rushed forward, holstering her rifle.

"Stay back maiden! That is a murloc shaman with them!" yelled Maiev behind her.

Jaune turned towards Ruby, smiling and waving, "Hey Ruby! Long time no see!"

Blake and Yang followed Ruby and soon they were all talking excitedly; every one of them relieved to find their friends alive. Finally Ruby turned to see that the short murloc who had appeared with them was staring down Maiev; who was glaring at him in turn; her blades drawn.

Jaune saw this as well and stepped forward, raising his hands in a placating gesture; "It's okay; I know it seems strange, but he's here to help." Maiev turned to him and Jaune took a step back as she brandished her weapons at him.

"Silence, pawn of the Betrayer!" she hissed at him, she pointed her blade at the murloc, "I will slay this foul creature and should you stand in my way, I will not hesitate to kill you as well."

"Calm down Maiev; these are our friends." Yang said as she wrapped her arms around Ren and Nora's shoulders, "we should at least her them out."

Maiev shook her head, "I told you already, you can't trust them! If not the Betrayer, then obviously this creature has controlled them somehow."

Morgl sighed and reached into his robes, Maiev raised her blades threateningly, but the murloc held up a single hand; dropping his staff as he did so. Maiev lowered her blade and she let out a gasp as the murloc pulled out a large white egg with a single green spot.

The murloc placed the egg on the ground and drew a circle in the dirt; he then murmured under his breath and a single silver thread extended from his hand. It divided into two strands, one end vanished into the egg at his feet, and the other into his chest; he looked up at Maiev levelly.

"You know what this enchantment is… so speak." he said simply.

Maiev cocked her head to the side, and sheathed her blades. "Very well… creature… I shall play your game. Tell me exactly what you intend to do."

Morgl looked her in the eyes, "I intend to perform a ritual of change upon the Fragment of Creation of this world. I will enact this ritual in order to make it so that each of our races will never have to see each other again, and will each live in peace and happiness." he sighed as Maiev opened her mouth to speak; "and no, that's not a euphemism for slaughtering them or consigning them to oblivion. Even if my brethren have forgotten themselves to the point where they are willing to destroy the core of another world for their own selfish needs; I have not. I will not-" the murloc's voice faltered and Ruby's eyes widened in shock as she saw tears flow down the murloc's cheeks.

"I will not allow us to fall to the level of the demons. We were more than this once…" the murloc said, his voice strong, "but while we drove the demons off of our world… they will have won if this is what we have become; let me set this right and you will not regret it; I swear it." he stood there, his fists clenched as he stared at the night elf.

Maiev averted her gaze and sheathed her glaives; "I am sorry… shaman; I misjudged you." she said simply.

Morgl nodded once and the threads dissipated; he picked up the egg and put it back in his robe once more before picking up his staff.

Jaune breathed out a sigh of relief, and Pyrrha turned to Morgl, "So what's the plan?"

The murloc turned to Maiev, "I understand that you know where Mul'dan and his ilk are?"

Maiev frowned, but nodded, "How did you-"

Morgl winked at her, "You haven't exactly been discreet." he walked up to her, "I shall teleport us to them, but first I will need your permission to follow the enchantment; Illidan is a far trickier quarry. While I have been able to observe some of his movements; I cannot lock exactly onto his location."

Maiev nodded, and closed her eyes; the shaman gasped, then nodded. "We don't have much time, I'm afraid; quickly, gather around."

The Hunters and Huntresses huddled around the murloc, "I haven't tried to transport this many people at once in a long time, so bear with me." he chanted under his breath and a lines of blue energy began swirling around the group. Suddenly the murloc raised his staff and slammed it into the ground and the group disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Illidan slammed heavily against the wall and let out a growl as he tried to stand back up; only to have several more fists of red energy zoomed toward him. He succeed in block the first few, but there were too many and he let out weak screams of rage and pain as they collided with his already battered body. Cinder grinned as she advanced toward the fallen night elf; a red aura growing around her as the strikes came faster and faster.

"My heart has gone to-" Velvet began to cry as she flew at the sorceresses; but the woman raised a single hand and a shimmering red wall formed in front of her. Velvet tried to change direction, but it was too late as she collided with the obstacle. However, instead of stopping her, the wall encapsulated her as she drove into it. It then suddenly gathered up on itself and formed a red orb that began crushing down on the Huntress; who let out gasps of pain as she desperately extended her arms and legs to stop it from smashing her into a pulp.

Ozpin grunted as he fought desperately against two Beowolves whose forms shimmered and faded in and out of sight as they clawed at him. The Grimmgar, despite their massive size and strength, had fallen in the initial moments of the skirmish; their clumsy power unsuited for fighting against such agile opponents.

Mul'dan looked up to and his concern grew at the demonstration his ally's power; the woman's mastery of magic had grown far beyond his own. He had no delusions about how long he would live after his usefulness was over. However... he grinned vilely as he pulled out a small object that he had found while sifting through one of the container's in the vault while the fight had been ongoing. He whispered a spell over it and it began to glow with green flame; he quickly pocketed it and sealed the container once more. He quickly turned and threw a small ball of fel flame at the Ozpin; who dodged nimbly aside.

Mul'dan grinned and his hand filled once more with the vile green flame; this time, he threw it down on the ground, where it blew outward into a massive wall of flame that flowed forward.

Ozpin saw the flame coming, and gritted his teeth as he knelt down. A dome grew around him; the Beowolves let loose a rain of blows upon the shield; howling in exultation as they saw their foe fall. Then the flame reached them and their howls turned to ones of pain and panic; which faded as their forms disintegrated.

Finally the flame passed and Ozpin let out a slow breath as he dropped the shield; he got unsteadily to his feet just in time to see a gnarled hand shoot out at him. He let out a choked cry as the hand grabbed his throat in a vice-like grip; and he dropped his staff as he struggled in vain to break the murloc's grip.

Mul'dan grinned savagely and began slamming the man into the wall repeatedly, before throwing him into one of the large pillars. The man coughed and blood splattered onto the ground before he fell in a heap. Mul'dan grunted in satisfaction and turned back to the metal doors that hid his prize. He felt the swirlings of enchantment around the room and he scowled as he began probing the lock. That fool of a night elf apparently had a latent tracking spell on him; no doubt reinforcements were already on the way.

He growled victoriously as he felt the last enchantment break around the doors, he pulled savagely and the doors flew off their hinges. He let out curse as the dust cleared; behind the doors was another seal; a design constructed of blue lines of pure energy floated serenely in the air.

"What is that?"

Mul'dan turned to see Cinder marching up to him. He looked behind her to see that all four of their adversaries were trapped in orbs of red energy; their forms locked in stasis. He grunted in approval; then turned back to peer closely at the strange runes that comprised the design before answering.

"It is a Gaian seal … it is a magical lock that requires a… password… of sorts. It will be a connected intrinsically to a mystery of this planet; an element of its very being. I underestimated this… Ozpin… this is no simple magic."

Cinder nodded, "Can you undo it?"

Mul'dan considered the seal for a moment, then nodded, "Yes I believe so, I will need to decipher it first. In the meantime; I suggest you prepare some defenses; I sense that someone is attempting to create a portal to this place; no doubt friends of theirs."

Cinder nodded and extended her hand; a red swirling vortex appeared and Grimm began streaming out in a wave. "You keep working on that seal warlock," she smiled as more of the Grimm arrived through the portal and began flowing past her, "I believe I know who comes."

* * *

James Ironwood didn't even wince as an artillery shell exploded less than a hundred meters away. The artillery crews had learned quickly how to shoot as close their own lines as possible; in an attempt to provide support to their comrades as much as they could. The tactic had proven crucial in their withdrawals, as it provided precious space for the beleaguered defenders to fall back to their next line of defense.

He cursed as he examined the lines; they would have to do so very soon, already the blasted creatures were arriving by twos and threes into the trenches themselves; engaging the soldiers inside them in hand to hand combat. That in turn disrupted their firing line and soon more would arrive; until they would be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers at their enemies disposal.

He heard the faint thrum just in time to roll to the side as one of their damn energy blades flew over his head. The murloc knight wheeled around for another pass; but Ironwood never gave him the chance as he unloaded round after round into the creature with his revolver. The murloc spasmed and fell heavily to the ground; he sighed as he reloaded his pistol. Then there was the matter of the knights; most of the time, they seemed content just making such passes; slashing off the heads of unsuspecting soldiers. However, occasionally they would streak along the ground in tight formations; diving into the trenches to slaughter the soldiers inside. The line never held long after they executed that tactic, despite his best attempts to counter it with barbed wire and earth works. Those damn blades cut through everything like butter; and they were so maneuverable that they could fly too low to the ground for flak cannon fire.

He had then tried to organize his Hunters and Huntress squads to fight back; which had worked for a time. However they were too few, and the war of attrition had soon taken its toll. He frowned as he saw the murlocs suddenly freeze and fall back, their attention turning to a spot in the center of their formation.

Ironwood's heart filled with dread, even as he called for his soldiers to fall back; he couldn't afford to waste such a precious opportunity. He pulled out his binoculars and looked through them; and he frowned. There was a group of figures there, and he gasped as he recognized some of Ozpin's students… Rudy... Ruby! That was it. There appeared to be a short, robed figure with them who was addressing the murlocs; waving his staff as he spoke. A single knight stepped forward and yelled something as he pulled out his blade. Suddenly a hand of earth erupted from the ground and swallowed the knight whole; it clenched and he could see bluish blood erupt from between the fingers. He swallowed nervously at this sheer display of power; great, now the damn things had what he could only assume were semblances. Even as he made note of this; he saw the murlocs doing something he had never seen before… they turned around and began walking away.

He lowered his binoculars and simply stared as the horde of creatures began walking calmly from the battlefield. Some of the soldiers froze in the middle of carrying supplies or the wounded to watch the sight unfold before their eyes. Soon, the entire battlefield was still; empty of any living creature.

He blinked then looked back in his binoculars; looking for the strange group; but they were nowhere to be seen. He jumped as someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to see Ruby waving at him. He stared at her dumbfounded.

"Hey… uh… General Ironwood? So… my friend says that you probably have a couple of hours until they come back. He says to go ahead and retreat as far back as you can; evacuate everyone and just try to hang on for a little longer." She gave him a small smile, "Don't worry sir, Team RWBY is on the job!" she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "He didn't tell me to say that, I just kind of wanted to; bye!" With a small popping noise, girl vanished as suddenly as she had come.

Ironwood simply stared at the empty space where the Huntress had stood; still dumbfounded; he turned his gaze back to the empty battlefield. He was only dimly aware as a soldier came up behind him and saluted sharply.

"Sir, all forces have withdrawn to defensive line 56; do you have any further orders?"

Ironwood whirled around and walked past him, "Fall back to defensive line Alpha; evacuate all civilians."

The soldier's jaw dropped and he let out a small choked sound, "Sir, that's all the way back to just outside the city!" he protested.

"Just do it." Ironwood growled; the soldier saluted and began yelling into a communicator. Ironwood ignored him as he stared off in the direction of Beacon; he had no idea what was going on; but for the first time since the beginning this invasion, he began to hope.

* * *

Morgl let out a grunt as the group flew through the swirling inky blackness that surrounded them. "Someone's… opposing me… can't keep going…" he growled and Jaune could feel the thrumming of the murloc's staff deepen. "I'll get us as close as I can…" the murloc said, his voice strained.

Suddenly there was a sharp popping noise, and the group was standing in front of Beacon Academy. "Not bad!" Yang said, "Save a lot on airship fare."

"Where to now?" Pyrrha asked.

Maiev pointed at the Academy, "They are in there, but they're underground."

"I didn't know that Beacon had a basement." remarked Blake.

"Ummm… guys?" Ren said; and he pointed at the school's entrance.

Ruby frowned as she peered into the distance, then gasped.

A tide of Grimm were flowing out of the school, emerging in a dark wave onto the school grounds. There were more than they could count; Morgl let out a gasp, "Be careful, these are not like the creatures you have faced before. I sense the Legion's foul magic about them… but there's something… different… about them."

"We're never going to be able to get through all of them, not in time." murmured Pyrrha.

Jaune smiled, "I've got an idea guys; just keep them off of me."

"Roger that!" Nora gave him a sharp salute, then turned back to the horde of Grimm; "WARRRGGGHHH!" she screamed, and she rushed at them.

Ren shrugged and followed closely after, "WARRRGGHHHH!"

Pyrrha nodded at him, and followed, "Trýpa oikópedo, áskopo thánato!" she cried.

"Awww… alright Team RWBY! We need a battlecry!" said Ruby and she turned fiercely to Yang and Blake. Who both thought for a moment.

"Cats rule dogs drool?" Blake suggested.

Zwei barked in protest. Yang smiled, "You're right Zwei, that would be a cat-astrophy."

Blake rolled her eyes. Ruby raised a hand, "What about… go Team RWBY!"

"That's kind of what we've been doing already." Yang pointed out.

Blake frowned, "What about-"

Suddenly a roar boomed across the sky; the wind roared across the open field and the very earth trembled before the awesome sound.

"LERRRROOOYYYY JEENNNKIIIINNNNSSSSS!"

The three looked at one another, then toward the source of the noise.

"Was that?" Ruby asked hopefully.

A figure charged into view, encased fully in armor; it wielded a massive two handed sword that it used to cleave through entire ranks of Grimm. A Goliath turned to her and reared back its head, the armor-clad warrior extended a hand; and a white sigil appeared in the air. Suddenly an enraged squeal filled the air and an enormous white boar charged forward and slammed into the Grimm; who toppled over with a pained scream.

"It's Weiss!" Blake said, still recovering from the force of the sound.

Suddenly, Ruby raised her scythe overhead, "LEERRROOOYYYY JENNNKIIINNNSSS!" she yelled as she rushed forward.

Yang turned to Blake, who smiled and shrugged, "LEERRROOOYYY JEEENKKIINNSSS!" they yelled, and they joined the fray.

Meanwhile, Jaune turned and nodded to Morgl. "How rare is that staff of yours?"

Morgl frowned, "This? It is a legendary item among my people…"

"Do you have anything else like it?" Jaune asked him.

The murloc frowned, and put his hand into his robe, and pulled out a bag; "I have several such artifacts… why?"

Jaune smiled, "I think I know how we can get some reinforcements, but I'm gonna need your help."

Morgl frowned, then as Jaune explained his plan, that frown deepened into a scowl. "No. Just no… yes it would work; but do you have any idea what you're suggesting?"

Jaune stared at the murloc for a moment, then turned his gaze meaningfully toward the massive horde of Grimm; which had only grown as more streamed out of the Academy entrance.

Morgl sighed, "Fine, I get your point." with great reluctance he turned and began chanting the spell.


	9. Chapter 9

Ruby ducked out of the way of one of the Grimm as it lunged forward; and swept her scythe in a vicious arc through another in reply. Yang slammed her fist into the first Grimm as it snapped in frustration and the trio kept moving forward; their eyes fixed on the fray developing in the distance. They saw another dust cloud bloom and felt the reverberation as the armored figure of Weiss connected with another blow far in the distance.

"C'mon team! We're almost there!" yelled Ruby as she dodged around a snarling Beowolf; who opened its mouth wide. Red energy began forming at the back of its mouth and Ruby's eyes widened as she dropped into a roll; barely dodging the beam of red death that burst from the Grimm's open mouth. Blake slashed her blades across the Grimm's neck and the beam disappeared as quickly as it had formed. The red light fled from the Grimm's eyes and its head slowly rolled off its shoulders and onto the ground.

"There's just so many!" Yang yelled back as she piledrived two more Grimm into the ground, where they fell still.

Blake looked back at Jaune and Morgl; a blue cylinder had formed around them; spinning faster and faster as they carried out whatever hair-brained scheme that the Hunter had come up with. She only hoped whatever they were doing that they would finish soon; there was just simply too many Grimm to fight; and already the exertions of the past few days were making themselves felt. She gave an exhuasted battle cry as she threw herself out of the way of another Beowolf's vicious claws and retaliated with a strike of her own; sending the Grimm sprawling.

* * *

Velvet groaned as she sat up; she looked around to see that she was trapped in some kind of energy bubble. She gritted her teeth and concentrated in on herself, tapping into the strange power that Illidan had tutored her in, 'the fel' he had called it. The night elf had told her, that as far as he could tell, she was the only one of the group that had undergone the ritual to develop it. With an effort of will, she spun it into a web and began probing the magical construct, searching for a weak point. She gave a start as she felt a familiar presence tug on her tendrils sharply.

"Halt Velvet; your instincts are good; but we must bide our time." Illidan's voice echoed within her mind. "When I give the signal; we shall break out of these accursed prisons. The woman; Cinder, caught me off guard… now however, I have studied her magic. I can see now why it was so much stronger than my own, or indeed her foul ally's."

Velvet frowned, then concentrated, "Why?"

She saw the night elf turn to her; then saw him smile, his orbs glowing bright, "It is difficult to explain; but essentially it has to do with this… Aura… she is mixing it with the power of the fel. The mixture is giving her power an unusual potency; I believe that once I break out of this orb; I shall be able to draw this Aura into myself. However, I do not know what shall happen when I do so; therefore, we must pick the right time to strike. Until then… patience."

Velvet nodded and made herself comfortable, "As you wish."

* * *

Mul'dan frowned fiercely, and sweat trickled down his brow as he cast the translation cipher once more. It was correct, he was sure of it; but the results of his castings left him bewildered; his eyes moved rapidly behind closed eyelids. He opened his eyes and let out a silent curse.

"How goes it?" a voice inquired behind him.

He turned to see Cinder walking up to him, her footsteps echoing around the room. The murloc did his best to keep his face calmly neutral as he gripped the artifact he had secreted inside his robes. By the Legion; the woman absolutely radiated power; it was as intoxicating as it was unsettling; "I have successfully deciphered the lock; but it's contents leave me… lost… perhaps as a denizen of this world; you may have more luck." He almost coughed out of habit, but managed to silence it; he was no longer in a position of power anymore; although he prayed silently to his dark masters that she wasn't aware of that quite yet.

"Show me." she demanded.

Mul'dan nodded, and made a gesture; the floating designs in front of him lowered to head height and began rearranging themselves rapidly. Finally they slowly resolved themselves into legible words. Cinder frowned as she slowly began reading it aloud…

"'Jaune x'... 'Weiss x'... 'Blake x'?" she whirled around and made a sharp pulling gesture with her hand. Suddenly, the orb containing Ozpin rushed towards them and when it arrived, it disappeared and dumped the silver haired human onto the ground.

Cinder picked him up by the back of the neck and thrust him towards the words; "What do these _mean_?" she snarled.

Ozpin looked at the floating words, then began laughing; Mul'dan eyes narrowed as he recognized the edge of madness present in that laughter.

"I'll never talk." he said. He pointed at the floating words, "They've already talked, but I won't!" he began laughing once more.

Cinder snarled as she turned to Mul'dan, "We don't have time for this; construct a Soul Harvester!"

Mul'dan looked at the human apprehensively; "He is insane," he murmured, "when I conduct this ritual; I absorb an essence of the victim. I cannot guarantee my own sanity should I do so."

Cinder brought red flame to her palm, "Do it." she said. The murloc stared at the flame, then slumped slightly and reluctantly opened a portal to begin summoning the necessary reagents.

Illidan grinned as he observed the conversation; in particular he noted the way that Cinder's eyes glinted with something close to hunger as she glanced from Mul'dan to Ozpin. It was a look he knew well. "And they call me the Betrayer." he muttered. It wouldn't be long now, he thought; as he watched the warlock begin setting the crystals for the ritual.

* * *

Morgl grimaced as he attempted to control the swirling power that moved around him.

"How much longer?" Jaune asked as he slammed away a Beowolf that attempted to get close.

"I already told you; asking me that doesn't make it go any faster!" the shaman grumbled; then he felt a tug across time and space. "Not… much… longer!" he grunted out as he pulled on that weight; dragging it into the world.

There was a flash of light and Jaune was temporarily blinded. He blinked rapidly to regain his vision; and when he did he stared at the sight.

There were creatures of every size and shape though all stood on two legs; none could be confused for a human. Some towered over Jaune; covered in fur; others were short; barely barely coming up to his waist, with green skin and tapered ear tips. At the front however; stood a familiar figure; who pointed at Jaune, "See man! I told you. I haven't been able to find anything on it; but it's some kind of weird event thing. This is where I got the legendary staff." YoloSwagLordxXx said to a huge, armored figure standing beside him.

The figure stepped forward and looked down at the murloc and the Hunter. Jaune tried not to gulp audibly as he looked at the massive blade strapped to the giant's back. Finally the metal-clad figure spoke, "I'm not seeing any quest… is it bugged or something?"

Morgl gave a start and grabbed the bag, he muttered something quickly under his breath and the bag transformed into a piece of paper. Simultaneously, an exclamation point appeared above the murloc's head. The giant grabbed the paper and quickly read it over; as it did; it's eyes widened. It turned back to the others, "It's a _raid_!" it yelled, the others stared at him blankly; then suddenly there was a flurry of activity.

"Ballsdpz; get everybody flasked up and get everyone their pots if they need 'em. PwNnUbs77; call Ubertunkz and tell him to get his ass online. EatmySoulout, get the portal up and invite him to the group when he does. We've got a chance at being world first people, let's make this happen!"

The strange beings went to their various tasks; Jaune simply stared, dumbfounded as he watched them casually annihilate any Grimm that dared to get close.

Finally Morgl cleared his throat, "Thank you, great and mighty warriors of Azeroth, for coming to us in our-."

"Oh yeah that's right, these quests seem to have a lot of dialogue; we're probably gonna have to wait a bit." SwagLordxXx said, cutting him off.

The figure groaned at that, then looked over his shoulder, "Hey, Tho'grash, got some story stuff for you." he walked away as a large, green skinned being ran up, his eyes wide with excitement.

He stopped in front of Jaune and Morgl; then brought a fist to his heart in a salute. "Lok'tar Ogar friends, it is the great honor of Debauched Tea Party to aid you in your time of need. Where is the terrible foe that needs to be slain? Where is the foul creature whose bones we shall take as trophies for our hall?"

Morgl pointed at the Academy, "Within those wall lies Mul'dan and his dark ally Cinder; as well as Illidan Stormrage. We need you to clear out the Grimm in this courtyard, then travel within to destroy them before they can take the core of this world and use it for their own vile purposes."

Tho'grash nodded, then saluted once more, "We shall do so with great haste and valor, Lok'tar Ogar!" he walked back to the armored figure, who was talking with what appeared to be a massive bear.

"Look Uber, you're going to have to roll like everyone else. You got the shoulders last week; and frankly we need more pieces on our dps anyway. Plox hasn't gotten a piece of gear for like the past three weeks." he turned his gaze to Tho'grash, "Well?"

"I swear, the writing's gone down ever since Liche Queen." he grumbled, "basically it sounds like an add fight out here; then maybe Illidan, Mul'dan, and some new person named Cinder. I would hazard a guess that we're going to fight Archimonde again, since that's like… what _always_ happens whenever Mul'dan's involved."

The armored figure nodded, "Alright; then," he turned to the rest of the group, "you heard the man! Get out your AoE's! It's gonna be a mob fight!"

There was a mix of cheers and grumbling as they all simultaneously began pulling out strange scroll books and fiddling with them. Save for one who just sat there, beaming as he yawned lazily; making a show of checking his watch. "Frickin' warlocks…" Jaune heard one of them grumble.

Morgl turned to Jaune, "I'll handle things out here; go to your friends and tell them to be ready. They may seem like a motley band of misfits; but I've seen the warriors of Azeroth in battle. You'll get your chance to get inside soon."

Jaune nodded and took a deep breath as he turned toward the crowd of Grimm in between him and his friends. He charged forward with his war scream; tearing through the beasts.

Morgl heard one of the adventurers chuckle, "Hey, that's what you sounded like on fixate phase two weeks ago."

His companion smacked him on the shoulder. "Shut up, Balls!" he replied. Morgl rubbed his temples to ward off his growing headache, how the people of Azeroth put up with these… adventurers, he would never understand.

* * *

Weiss screamed her battle cry as she hewed through more of the filthy creatures. The time spent with the great warrior, Leroy Jenkins had not been wasted. She had learned his ways of 'Yolo' and 'Chicken'. She had learned how to throw herself into battle; confident in her ability to 'pwn noobs' and 'wreck fools'. When he had died to the foul tricks of the murlocs. Whom had cunningly placed a bucket of chicken that had actually contained a massive amount of explosives in the middle of the clearing… along with a large sign that had said; ''Free chickenz'. She had sat, paralyzed with grief; but then they had come again, they had tried to take the chicken. They had succeeded; despite her best efforts; they had taken the chicken; they had stolen the precious buckets. She would never rest until they were slain, all of them.

She swung the massive warblade in an arc; slicing a handful of murlocs in twain. Then suddenly, she heard a familiar voice; she paused for a moment; unheeding of the murlocs pitiful attempts to penetrate her armor.

It was a voice she had known before the chicken; it was a voice that inspired… annoyance… yes… but something else as well.

"Weiss! We're coming Weiss!" the voice called out; breaking through her battle fever.

She shook her head, trying to clear it; she looked up to see a group of girls running to her; determination and joy on their faces as they desperately fought their way to her.

She stood there stock still for a moment; then with a roar; she began slashing and cutting her way to them. The murlocs screamed and some even tried to flee as she vented her fury on any caught between her and her goal. Until finally; they stood face to face; suddenly it hit her. The names flashed across her mind, along with the faces, Blake… Yang… Ruby… they stood before her. Smiling up at her with wide innocent faces… the faces of noobs…

She swung her blade up; preparing to bring it crashing down; to pwn these noobs and take their chicken.

Ruby's eyes widened as she watched the blade rise and she turned them toward Weiss' face. "Weiss?" she asked, her eyes suddenly uncertain. "Weiss please, put the blade down…" the other two got into ready stances and stepped back a step. They were fools, they were noobs, they would be pwned. A voice suddenly spoke in her head, it wanted to go back to the world without chicken, without the pwning of noobs. It made her hesitate for just a moment, but the choice was easy; she prepared to strike, to erase them from this world. The voice began to speak once more, but she drowned it out with the mantra that her teacher had taught her.

"Strats are a lie, there is only Yolo."

"Through chicken, I gain strength."

"Through strength, I gain the skillz."

"Through the skillz, I pwn the noobs."

"Through pwning noobs, I get the loots."

"The loots will make me leet."

She swung the blade down, promising death and destruction; but Ruby never moved an inch, instead she spoke, "Weiss, you're my friend." she said simply.

That made her freeze, the blade halting mere inches from the slim figure in front of her. Friends? No, they were noobs; they had to be pwned… yet. Images flashed through her mind of them together, a massive food fight, playing a board game, fighting alongside each other. She had something then that she was missing now, something that was a gaping hole inside her that pwning noobs and eating chicken did not fill.

The voice whispered two words: "a life"

Suddenly everything came crashing on her; what the hell was she doing in this armor? More the point, this thing had to weigh literally tons… how the hell was she even-

Before she could finish that thought, the armor began buckling and she let out a small scream as she toppled over, her friends barely avoiding the impact as the ground shook from the avalanche of falling metal.

She tried to move; but it felt like she was trapped under a house; she gritted her teeth and slowly began trying to pull her limbs inward from the spacious arms and legs of the metal suit.

Suddenly she was blinded by light as someone removed the armor's helmet. A hand came through the opening and she grabbed it gratefully and she was pulled out of the suit onto the grass.

"You seriously have an awful track record with big suits of metal." Yang remarked as Weiss slowly got to her feet.

"Ha-ha, very funny Yang." In truth, her heart was soaring as she looked at her friends. "I thought… I thought you guys were dead…"

Ruby hugged her fiercely, "I'm so glad you're okay!" she yelled. Weiss hesitated, then returned the hug; trying to stop the tears of relief that were coming to her eyes.

"Eh-hmmm." Weiss' gaze shot up to see four strange creatures watching them. She reached for her rapier, only to realize it was missing. She glanced over at the massive blade, and desperately tried to pick it up.

"Whoa, whoa! It's okay Weiss, I know they look weird, but that's actually just Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora." said Blake.

Weiss looked to her in confusion, then back to the strange figures, one who she supposed looked a bit like Nora waved to her happily.

Ruby reached into her pack, pulled out Myrtenaster and passed it to her.

Weiss sighed in relief as she checked the weapon to ensure it was undamaged. "Thanks." She kicked the massive blade, and regretted it when the blade didn't even budge, but left her with a sore foot instead. "So what's going on?"

"Short version? An evil murloc named Mul'dan is trying to seriously screw up our world. He's in Beacon Academy along with some other evil people and we need to get through these Grimm to get to them." said Blake.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Okay… does the long version make anymore sense?"

Blake considered that for a moment, then shook her head, "Not really."

Weiss sighed, "Alright then, so what's the plan?"

Jaune spoke up, "We have some… allies that are going to create a distraction so that we can get inside."

As soon as he said that, there was a massive explosion and a multitude of different colored lights erupted from a space some distance away. The Grimm screamed and began swarming that location; leaving the entrance of the Academy, if not clear; at least at lot less guarded than before.

"That would be it," said Pyrrha as she readied her weapons.

"We rush forward, everyone else follow up?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha smiled, "You got it."

"You heard her, let's do this." Jaune commanded the others.

"Lerroooyy-." Ruby began, but Weiss slammed her hand over her mouth.

"No… just… no." she said.

Ruby removed her hand, "But we need a battle cry!" she pouted.

"Break their legs!" suggested Nora.

"Ooo, it should be a pun," suggested Yang.

"Blake their legs!" yelled Nora desperately.

Blake glared at her, then Yang, "No puns."

The group was silent, then Jaune spoke, "You know what? How about just, 'For Remnant'?"

They all thought about it, "That could work." admitted Pyrrha.

The group nodded one by one, they were warriors, but more than that, they were Hunters and Huntresses of Remnant, and today was their day to fulfill their duty. They all readied their weapons, faces determined.

"Alright then, on three!" Jaune said as he turned back to face the open doors of the Academy. "One, two, three!"

"For Remnant!" they yelled as one.

... except for Nora who yelled, "For pancakes!"

They all paused for a moment to stare at her, she shrugged, "What? I'm really hungry!"

* * *

Mul'dan etched the final line of the design into the floor; which began to glow a sickly green. "It is done." he said; "I shall now begin the ritual."

Cinder seemed to consider that, then smiled widely. "About that… you say that when you conduct this ritual, you gain a part of their… essence?"

Mul'dan nodded reluctantly as she paced around the circle of crystals, "Yes, I essentially absorb the portion of their soul that contains the information I require."

Cinder nodded at that, "What if someone were to say… absorb all of their soul?"

Mul'dan's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "They would gain all that the person had to offer; however, the process would prove… taxing. All of the fel energy the person had available would surely be exhausted for that day, if not longer"

Cinder paused to consider one of the crystals, "What if the person in question… purely hypothetically of course… had a kind of, battery?"

Mul'dan considered that, "It… could work." he admitted, "However, the transference would not be completely efficient, the… battery would have to be a highly powerful individual if the person wanted to have sufficient power left over for it to matter."

Cinder considered that, then smiled, "Thank you then for volunteering."

Mul'dan rounded on her, sickly green energy gathering in his palm, "What are you saying?" he demanded.

Cinder turned to him and smiled, "Your usefulness has ended Mul'dan; your foul coughing, your sickly stench and appearance. I don't have to put up with it anymore, good-bye."

She flung out her hand, and a red design quickly etched itself into the ground beneath the murloc. He desperately reached into his cloak, but before he could do anything more; he began to scream; green energy poured from his open mouth into the crystals; making them glow bright with energy. Finally; after what seemed like an eternity, he fell to the ground, deathly still.

Cinder turned to Ozpin and smiled cruelly, "Now, Ozpin…" she purred, "let's see just what you're hiding." she threw out her hand and Ozpin screamed as a single red leash emerged from the central rune, it pulled taut and a blue sphere emerged from him and flew into Cinder's hand. She clenched it and the room began to rumble as green light poured from the crystals into her body.

* * *

Illidan's voice roared inside Velvet's mind, "Be ready! I am preparing to break our prisons!"

Velvet grabbed her warglaives and readied herself to move quickly; her eyes glued on the figure of the woman who even now writhed as fel energy poured into her.

Suddenly the red sphere shattered and she dropped lightly to her feet; preparing to rush forward at her foe.

She heard a gasp and turned her gaze to see Illidan writhing on the floor; "It burns! It makes no sense! How did Jaune not know about Aura?! Why are there only two guards?! Why does one man own every single shop!? AUGGGHHH!" Velvet watched in confusion as the night elf continued to rant as he writhed on the ground in pain.

"Master?" she asked uncertainly. The night elf continued to writhe in pain, hands clenched at his skull, "Master Illidan?!"

The sound of her voice seemed to bring Illidan to his senses, his breathing slowed as he began to control himself. Finally he stood up; though his face was still in a grimace of pain.

"It's… nothing; I had seen the currents of Aura; seen how she drew upon them to integrate with the fel. When I reversed the process to collect Aura using the fel… I had no idea that it would pull so much up with it." he shook his head. "I saw the core of this world; the very essence of its being." he looked up to stare at Cinder as the light began to ebb. "That seal; the riddle upon it has something to do with… pairings…"

Velvet looked over at him in confusion; he waved his hand dismissively, "I am still trying to control this power; and I sense that your friends are coming as well. It would behoove us to wait just a little longer, come I will disguise our presence while I recover." he turned and darted into the shadows behind one of the massive pillars. Velvet glanced at Cinder and then reluctantly followed.

Cinder looked at her hands as she absorbed everything that was Ozpin. The power… the knowledge… it was all hers! She looked over at the corpse of Mul'dan and marched up to him, he had been reaching inside his robes, if she was correct then…

She let out a maniacal giggle as she saw the artifact that had rolled out of the murloc warlock's grasp. It was a slender rod, a hardly worthwhile object in the hands of the unlearned. However… she thought as she picked up and raised it high, red energy flowed around her in massive pulses. In the hands of a master, it could rend the distance between two points… meaning that one could summon objects, or people, across space and time.

She let out a yell and there was a sudden _crack_ , and a woman appeared. She had gray skin and white air; her eyes were an unnatural shade of red, surrounded by pitch black pools. Black lines streaked across her face like cracks into the abyss. Bedecked in black clothes, she was an ominous figure that radiated foul power.

The woman's eyes widened, then narrowed onto Cinder.

"What is the meaning of this?" she hissed, "Too soon Cinder! You have summoned me too soon!" she looked around warily. "This is Beacon Academy." she murmured, she turned her furious gaze back to Cinder. "Where's Ozpin?"

Cinder grinned and tapped her temple lightly with her finger, "He's right in here, Salem."

Salem's head cocked to the side in confusion and her eyes narrowed. "Why have you summoned me?" she asked, her voice suddenly more suspicious than furious.

Cinder bowed her head slightly, "I believe the time has come to… re-negotiate our relationship, bow to me, or die."

Salem snarled, "Foolish girl! Even in my diminished state, you are no match for me!" she drew back her hand and strands of darkness began swirling at her fingers.

Cinder smiled, "That's where you're wrong." she extended out a hand, and with an effort of will, re-activated the Soul Harvester.

Salem screamed as the central rune once more activated; and Cinder began to let out a mad cackle as the leash went taut once more. Salem dropped to her knees screaming and a inky black and red mote emerged from her and went into Cinder; who slumped to the ground. Salem gave one last scream before starting to wither and shrink. Soon, nothing of her was left save for black robes that lay in a pile on the ground.

"So much power." Cinder murmured; she stood and extended her out her hands, " _ **Unlimited power!"**_ she screamed as lightning streamed from her finger-tips in a nebulous web above her head.

* * *

Velvet watched in horror, even without the sight that her master possessed, she could practically taste the power of the individual who stood there, cackling madly. She turned to Illidan, "We have to strike now, while she's distracted!" she hissed.

Illidan smiled, "Patience Velvet." he looked from her to Cinder and sighed. "It's so obvious when you're the one who's observing it. The arrogance, the lack of awareness…" Velvet stared at the night elf; who noticed her gaze and smiled. "Have you not wondered why it is Mul'dan retrieved that artifact in the first place." he looked back and shook his head, "because it's obvious she hasn't."

Velvet turned her gaze back to where Cinder continued to cackle maniacally, drunk on her newfound power, then gasped at what she saw.


	10. Chapter 10

Jaune dashed through the door, slashing through the Grimm that stood guard there. His eyes swiftly scanned the room, and he sighed with relief as he saw that it was empty.

He turned as the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR fought their way through the doorway. Pyrrha and Yang fought as a rear guard, stepping back step by step while preventing the Grimm from overwhelming them.

"Everyone! Get the doors!" He yelled, he went to one of the massive doors and began shoving, Nora and Ren joined him while the rest of Team RWBY went to the other door, slowly the massive blocks of wood began to swing with a giant groan.

"Pyrrha! Yang! Get out of there!" He yelled as the doors began to close, the two leapt backward, clearing the doorway. A Beowolf roared and stretched its claws to grab them, and let out a howl as the doors slammed shut. Its outstretched claw fell to the ground and began disintegrating. The doors shook as the Grimm outside began slamming into it, attempting to bash it down.

"That's not going to hold them for long…" Blake muttered as they eyed the doors.

Ren stepped forward, slamming a welding mask over his face, as he dragged a large welding assembly over to the doors.

"Where in the heck-" began Jaune, Ren turned and pointed. Jaune followed his pointing finger to see one of the bags that Illidan had given them lying open, several long sheets of metal were visible. "Okay, but that doesn't _really_ answer my question."

"Just grab that and bring it over to me, hurry." Ren said impatiently as he started up the welding torch. "Everyone else, start stacking anything you can find."

Soon, the door was reinforced with layer upon layer of metal; along with piles of chairs and tables that the Hunters and Huntresses had managed to gather up. Ren turned off the welding torch. "There we go, that should hold them for now."

"Seriously, how?" Jaune asked him, as Ren stacked the welding assembly against doors to join the furniture piled there. The rest of their team began following Ruby run down the hall into the academy.

Ren shrugged as he shouldered the pack once more, "Not really the time." he remarked, as the doors shook as a Grimm on the other side slammed into it.

"Ah...right." Jaune admitted, and the two followed the others deeper into the building.

* * *

"Good to see that you made it through." said Maiev as she emerged from the shadows as she ran beside the two teams. "There is an elevator ahead, it leads to where our foes are conducting their foul rituals."

The group stopped in front of a large pair of steel doors, Ruby reached over and pressed the small button that was on the wall next to it. There was a small _ding_ , and the doors parted to reveal a large platform. The group filed onto it, and Ruby pressed the down button, the doors closed softly but the platform was still.

"Does anyone else feel that this might have been just a bit too easy?" Weiss asked.

Suddenly the platform dropped out from under them, and the they began falling downward.

"Freakin' Ozpin and his 'landing strategies'!" yelled Jaune, he desperately struck at the wall with his blade, attempting to sink it in. Only to have it bounce off, sending him into a wild spin.

"You can't complain he never prepared us for this." replied Yang, she kicked off of one wall, and began deftly leaping from side to side. The others began copying her example, slowing their free-fall.

Abruptly strange formations came into view, "Are those _spikes_?" yelled Jaune as he right himself just in time to dodge around a glinting piece of steel that jutted out from the wall.

"Danger: Obstacles ahead." Ren read as they flew past a sign that had been jammed into the wall.

"Great, tell me more good news…" muttered Blake, and they readied themselves as more spikes came into view.

* * *

Cinder turned to the seal that still glowed in the entryway to the Fragment of Creation. She sneered and walked up to the glowing design. It made sense to her now, but she still was disgusted at how… juvenile, the lock's riddle actually was. The fact that it apparently compromised a key component of the world perturbed her slightly, even as she began inscribing the solutions. "Qrow x Winter = Snowbird." she murmured as she completed the final line. The design twisted and churned, suddenly there was a sound of sliding chains. The design flickered once, then faded away, revealing a small wooden box. She walked up to it, her heart beating faster as she felt the subtle undercurrent of power that was contained inside it.

Then, out of nowhere came a sound that she had learned to despise… a single, phlegm-filled cough. She whirled around in time to see a sickly green fireball fill her vision and slam into her, she cried out in pain as she slumped against the floor, briefly blacking out from the impact.

* * *

The Hunters and Huntresses groaned as they all stood up, recovering from the fall.

"Well that was… harrowing." said Pyrrha.

"That was fun!" Nora shouted, "Let's go again!"

"Focus, Nora." said Ren as he brushed the dust off his pants.

"Alright, Team RWBY, Assemble!" called Ruby.

"Team JNPR, uhm… gather up!" called Jaune.

The teams huddled up, and they stared grimly down the hall, strange lights crackled and flashed far down the hallway, casting an eerie glow.

"That magic… it's far more flash than substance." mused Maiev.

"What do you mean?" asked Pyrrha, as they began moving down the hall.

"Whoever that is, they've been exhausting themselves, that lightning is impressive to behold, but it has no real power behind it." the night elf explained.

The lights ceased and for a while nothing was visible, then a green light winked in the distance, then began to steadily grow in intensity.

"What about that?" asked Blake, her tone nervous.

"Quickly warriors! We must hurry!" replied Maiev sharply, and they hastened their pace.

* * *

Cinder came to and glared up in hatred at the figure before her. "You!" she hissed.

Mul'dan grinned and leaned over her, "Yes, me…" a hunched figure emerged from behind him and Cinder gasped as Mul'dan's leering face emerged from beneath its heavy cowl. "Me." Similar figures began coming forward, surrounding her, all with Mul'dan's face. "Me, me, me, me, me…" Mul'dan remarked as he gazed at the clones of him, before turning a malevolent grin back at Cinder.

"What… what is this?" she asked her eyes wide with horror. "What did you do?"

Mul'dan shook his head, then showed her the artifact that she had used to summon Salem. "I transported my egg here. However, when I was rebirthed, I was able to cheat just a bit; the Fragment's proximity as well as your own reckless use of power allowed me to reincarnate with more of my power and memories than I originally would have." he glanced at his clones, "Not only that, but in rebirthing here, on this planet, I managed to access the power of the world. I believe this is what you would call my… Semblance." He began to laugh, a cruel evil laugh that spread from Mul'dan to Mul'dan, until the room echoed with the sound of their mirth.

Finally he stopped and began to pace in front of her, "Then of course, there's you… tell me… just how much fel power do you have to match me after so recklessly using the Soul Harvester?"

Cinder snarled and brought energy to her fingers, flinging it at the warlock in front of her. Mul'dan smirked as it dissipated around him uselessly. The murloc inhaled deeply and sighed in satisfaction, "Ahh… just as I thought." he flung out his hand and Cinder writhed in pain. "Completely spent." He purred, then turned and walked to the room that contained the Fragment. "My masters will enjoy speaking with you." He told her as two of his clones picked up the artifact and began summoning pillars of dark rock from the floor.

"In the meantime however." he laid a single hand upon the box, "I shall be remaking this world in their image." he hissed and fel green energy began to swirl around him.

* * *

"Master! We need to go now!" Velvet hissed.

The night elf held up a hand, "Patience… if there is anyone who is aware of the nature of heroes, it is myself." He paused, "They should be arriving right about-."

There was a sharp _crack_ and one of the Muldans near the entrance shot backwards and fell to the floor. Another turned and lifted his hand, green flame coalescing around it. A figure shot from the doorway and fell upon the clone with a vengeance, its hammer fell with a grim finality and the murloc went still. Nore lifted the weapon overhead "WAAGGGHHHH!" she screamed.

"Go Team RWBY!"

"Uh… Go get'em Team JNPR!"

The two teams rushed out into the room and began rapidly taking down the murlocs.

"Now, we join them." Illidan said, Velvet grinned and the two extended their wings and entered the fray.

Maiev's eyes widened as a green flame flared up from the two rocky spires that two of the murlocs had been laboring over. A heavily armored boot stepped through, followed by a giant warrior encased in armor, wielding a heavy polearm. The Felguard roared as it leveled the weapon and rushed at her, she easily parried the blow and swept her glaive across the demon's throat. Even as it fell, two more stepped through the portal, then four, then six. Soon a small army of demons was rushing out of the portal, which was only growing larger. The night elf bit back a curse as she tried to fight her way to the two warlocks who were still hunched over, channeling their foul energies into the structure.

"It appears as though you could use some help." A voice remarked beside her, suddenly several of the demons in front of her fell to the ground, sizzling holes erupting in their chests. She turned to see Illidan cutting down a Felguard behind her, its eyes grew confused as they lost focus and it dropped its giant halberd, which hit the ground a split second before its corpse.

"You!" she hissed.

He sighed, "If there was ever a time to put aside your misguided grudge, it's now." He pointed at the portal, "We need to shut that portal. Should it grow too large, it will become stabilized enough that Archimonde himself might be able to step through it. You'll need my help if you're to stop it from getting to that point."

Maiev bit her lip as she considered his words, "Fine!" she spat, "but I'll be watching you, Betrayer!"

He rolled his eyes, "So long as you aren't cut down by a demon from your split attentions.".

Illidan turned back to the Warden, who was still watching him suspiciously, "Come, Warden, we have little time!" He threw back his head, "FEEL THE HATRED OF TEN THOUSAND YEARS!" He screamed and threw himself at the demons with a fury, whole swathes of them were cut down in the blink of an eye from his warglaives. Maiev eyed him thoughtfully and followed, slicing through any demon that got between her and the swirling green portal.

"You know, I'd never thought I'd say this." said Blake as she rolled to avoid a strike from one of the giant beings that were flooding out of the portal, she came out of the roll in an uppercut that sent the creature toppling backward. "But I kind of miss just fighting Grimm."

"I know right?" Weiss replied as she slashed at a warped looking dog creature out of the air as it leapt at her, it let out a piteous howl as it slammed heavily to the floor.

"First off all, they don't leave _bodies_." Blake continued, "I never realized how much of a difference that makes."

"Secondly, they don't have weird knight guys that speak old-timey fairy tale speak." Jaune butted in.

"What?" Blake and Weiss asked simultaneously.

He winced, "Long story…"

"Also… Grimm are endless right? Like… they just keep coming no matter how many we kill." Blake said.

"You say that like it's a bad thing!" said Yang as she beat one of the creatures over the head with their own weapons.

Blake rolled her eyes. "but at some point, they run out in that general area and you get a break." She pointed at the portal, "As it is, these guys set up a big, glowing green thing and it just sits there, and they keep coming. It's like they're taunting you with it."

"So? You can just knock it over or something." Weiss replied.

Ruby skidded to a stop between them, "I've been trying that!" She pointed at Nora who stood beside her staring at her hammer in shock. "More to the point, NORA's tried that."

"It didn't break… I hit something and it didn't break… like the most sturdy leg in all of existence…" She whispered. Ren patted her on the back and handed her a handkerchief, which she took and blew loudly before handing it wordlessly back to him.

"Honestly that's not the worst part." Pyrrha remarked as she stabbed two of the demons in quick succession. "So, I've always been fascinated by space, but we've never be able to learn much about it because Dust always stops working."

"Yeah?" Weiss replied.

Pyrrha turned to them, a frustrated frown on her face, "Then it turns out that a bunch of… fish people come here, across MULTIPLE worlds, and they use a rock formation that apparently was a portal to our world and we never realized it. Then to add insult to injury, they proceed to bring… people… HERE across all of those worlds with nothing much more than a wave of the hand and some pieces of paper."

There was a collective pause, "You know, that's kind of depressing when you put it like that…" Weiss admitted.

* * *

Illidan let out a roar as he cut down the two Muldans that were constructing the portal. He examined the swirling construct and gnashed his teeth. Just as he had suspected, they had been merely accelerating it, it was already stable and it was getting the the point where Eredar might be stepping through at any moment.

He began probing the gate with his senses, he was dimly aware of Maiev stepping up behind him, "Cover me!" He growled and the runes on his skin glowed as he began focussing his power and will against the portal. The green fire around its base sputtered and flared as the portal grew wider at an alarming rate.

"It's growing faster!" Maiev exclaimed, "What is it that you do, Betrayer?!"

"A construct like this will take far longer to simply brute force shut." He growled in reply, "It looks larger, but it's actually more unstable at this rate, if I can weaken it enough I can close it much faster."

He was abruptly aware of a blade being put to his throat, "Maiev…" he began warily, "I need you to trust me… just this once."

The blade wavered slightly, then grew still once more, "And have you destroy another world! Never!"

Illidan growled as he spun away from the blade, and flew back as a kick landed squarely in his stomach.

"I knew it!" Maiev crowed triumphantly as the portal began to shrink. "You were attempting to aid the demons! To become their champion once more! We will speak of this more when you are back in your cell!"

Illidan felt the threads of energy surrounding the portal flow wildly, and then they snapped taut as something began stabilizing the portal from the other side. Illidan's eyes widened as he recognized the force behind it, he looked to Maiev.

"Maiev, I beg you! By Mother Moon! Let me collapse the portal before it's too late!"

The Warden turned to him, disgust on her face, desperately, he tried to reason with her.

"Maiev… I've only ever tried to destroy the demons, I've-" He began.

"You've only ever give yourself greater power!" She cut him off angrily as she watched the portal shrink down to almost half to its former size.

Illidan's panic grew as he felt the power behind the portal coalesce and in desperation he changed tactics. "Maiev…"

Something in his voice made her turn, "I know that I have made mistakes. However, trust me that if nothing else, I have no desire to aid the demons." He took a deep breath, "Let me at least make thing right." He extended his hand, "Just think of every time you've decided not to trust me. I told you the demons would return, they did, I slew Tichrondis despite your accusations. If you hadn't stopped me at Icecrown, Jaina would never have wreaked the destruction that she did as the Lich Queen. Just trust me, this one time… please"

Maiev said nothing for a long time, finally she laughed and Illidan's heart dropped as she shook her head. "You must truly be hungry for power if you are desperate enough to _apologize_." She turned back to the portal, "No, _Betrayer_ , you're plot ends he-"

Suddenly the portal exploded with green light as it flared to life once more, and a large, red colored being stepped through it. A wave of magic swept through the portal, sending the two night elves flying. Maiev slammed into a pillar, let out a gasp of pain, and went still. Illidan let out a snarl as he spread his wings wide, skidding to a stop as he stared at the demonic figure. "Just great," he muttered as the demon rose to its full height,, "somehow, someway, this will be all _my_ fault… I just know it."

The whole room seemed to freeze as everyone stared at the being as it opened and closed a hand experimentally. The Eredar spread its hands and roared at the top of its lungs, "YOU FACE JARAXXUS! EREDAR LORD OF THE BURNING-"

A giant ball of energy collided with the being's chest and it fell back into the portal, a shocked expression on its face as it disappeared back into the Twisting Nether.

"Ah c'mon man, you should've let him finish!" a voice echoed from the entrance to the room.

"No! There is no way in hell I'm listening to you guys quote that shit for the next month!"

Everyone's gaze turned to see a hodge-podge of beings of various shapes and sizes enter the room.

"Hey, but at least we're not going to have to fight Archi-"

A being with blue skin and green eyes stepped out of the portal, power radiated around its frame as its fiery gaze swept the room.

"Damn it! Why the hell did you have to open your mouth Ballsdpz?!"

Archimonde let forth a mighty laugh, "Foolish mortals, you know not of the powers that you face. I will destroy you and sweep your ashes aside. The Burning Legion shall…"

"Already, ready check… all right, don't forget to pot up. the leader of Debauched Tea Party said, utterly ignoring the Eredar's speech. "3...2...1… Pull!"

An absolutely bewildering amount of power flew toward the demon, engulfing it in a wave. Illidan shook his head, it always amazed him the kind of power that adventurer's could wield together if they just put their minds to it. They had beaten Archimonde many times before, but far worse things would start emerge from the portal if they didn't act quickly.

More to the point… he thought as he looked up, Mul'dan was behind a massive barrier, chanting over what appeared to be a… piece of white cloth? Illidan frowned and reached out with his senses, whatever it was, there was a massive undercurrent of power emanating from it.

"Yes, that is indeed the Fragment of Creation." An elderly voice remarked beside him. He turned his gaze to see Morgl, the wizened murloc shaman was eyeing the barrier critically.

"That will be difficult to break…" he murmured.

Illidan nodded, "Indeed, although it requires much concentration, I believe I have a plan on how to lower it if just for a moment, but I would be nowhere near fast enough to get inside."

Morgl raised an eyebrow, then turned his gaze to Ruby as she used her Semblance to dash from demon to demon, slashing them with her scythe. "I think I have the answer to that." he replied. He lifted an outstretched hand, and a fist of earth emerged from one of the walls, lightly bumping Ruby from her intended trajectory. She gave a small yelp as her dash took her straight over their heads, landing neatly behind them.

"Warn me next time you do that!" she complained.

Morgl bowed, "I apologize, but time is short, and I am afraid we will require your speed."

Ruby frowned in confusion, then her eyes lit up, "Oh right, the Fragment thingie."

Illidan rolled his eyes, "Fragment of Creation, an artifact of power that is connected with the very foundation of the world itsel-"

Morgl patted him on the shoulder, "Yes, yes, but for now, the short version is, if I can get to it, I can put a stop to all of this. However, we need to get through that barrier, young Stomrage, you said you had a plan?"

Illidan cocked his head, "You do know that I'm thousands of years old?"

Morgl said nothing, but gave him a wide grin, and to Ruby's eyes it appeared that he was trying not to laugh. The night elf seemed to notice it as well and his eyebrows rose in surprise at the implication. He shook himself and nodded sharply, "Fine then… here is what we will need to do."


	11. Mrgglll wroggglll mrrll 11

Qrow didn't even know what to do anymore, whatever that necklace that Illidan had been controlling him with had shattered, and now he was sitting up against the wall while absolute chaos raged.

There was a gaggle of _things_ that were fighting some large blue-skinned thing that cackled madly as it rained green fire around them.

"Taunt!" One of them, a heavily plated green being, shouted at what appeared to be a massive bear.

It snarled something unintelligible at the blue-skinned being and it roared in anger, "How _dare_ you talk about my mother that way!? You will die a _thousand_ deaths!"

"Heals… hey! Heal me please!" One of them yelled, green fire burning merrily on top of his head.

"Quit standing in bad if you want heals!" One of them replied, there was a spark of light and suddenly the fire in its hair was snuffed out.

Even as Qrow watched, another being that had been bleeding out on the floor suddenly stood up, green light washed over him and his wounds closed. Within seconds he let out a yell and flew across the room to start hacking at the demon.

His gaze shifted to look at the students fighting the Grimm, he supposed he better go join them, but honestly, right now what he needed was a drink.

"Mind if I join you?" a familiar voice asked him.

He looked up to see Ozpin standing there with a large flask in his hand. Qrow grinned and motioned for him to sit. Ozpin sighed as he did so and uncapped the flask, offering it to Qrow, who took it gratefully and took a deep drink. He let out a gasp of appreciation as the liquid burned pleasantly in his throat.

"So I never got to ask you, what in the hell happened to your arm?" Ozpin asked him.

Qrow looked at his bizarre, rocky arm, that even now pulsed with sickly green energy. "I lost it fighting the murlocs. Then I did some weird ritual thing and boom, rock hand." He grinned, "I can't wait to play rock, paper, scissors with this thing."

"Hmm, have to say, I'm not used to being the one not in the loop." Ozpin admitted, "it's a unique feeling." He looked over to where Illidan, Ruby, and a hunched over murloc were making their way through the Grimm to the large barrier that contained a murloc in dark robes chanting over the Fragment of Creation.

"Looks like your niece is going to save the world." he remarked.

Qrow grunted as his gaze drifted to the group, and stood up, stretching as he did so, "I guess we better go help her then."

* * *

Illidan snarled as he kicked one Beowolf out of the way, and sliced another with one of his warglaives. "There are just… so… many of the beasts!"

Morgl raised his staff and a charging Boarbatusk squealed as an earthen hand emerged and flung it aside. "Yes, quite a nuisance really." he replied.

Ruby blocked a strike and dodge another, "At this rate we're never going to be able to make it to him in time!"

Suddenly a swathe of Grimm disappeared in an instant, and Qrow dropped in front of them.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby squealed in delight.

Qrow grinned at her and gave her a mock salute, "How's it going kiddo?" he turned to Illidan and pointed at him. "And you, we're going to have a talk after this is over."

The night elf grinned and shrugged, "Assuming that we both survive this, fair enough."

"I like how you think." Qrow said and he turned towards the barrier, "I think I've got an idea of how this rock hand thing of mine works now. So stay behind me, and let me get this trash out of the way."

He turned back to the Grimm and demons in between them and the barrier. He closed his eyes and concentrated, "Why's the rum gone?!" he screamed and suddenly his rock arm more than doubled in size and it became engulfed in a sickly green flame. He let out a roar and rushed forward, bowling aside everything that stood in his way.

Jaraxxus, Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion was having an awful day, he knew he should have been more suspicious when Archimonde had acquiesced so easily on the matter of who should go through the portal first.

He had been practicing for weeks in anticipation for going through the portal, all of those hours in front of the mirror wasted. He had been blasted by an unwholesome amount of power before he could sufficiently prepare himself and had landed flat on his back in front of the entire assembly of Eredar Lords.

He growled at some Doomguard who were in front of him and they stepped aside, heads bowed, as they should. He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath, this time he was ready, he would step back in there and demonstrate his full power upon the mortals of this world!

He took a deep breath and stepped through the portal into the midst of the battle, he rose to his full height and yelled in a voice that could crack the heavens themselves with its power.

"I AM JARAXXUS!" He exulted, "EREDAR LORD OF THE BURNING LEGION." He smiled as lowered his gaze, there… that had made it all worth it-

He frowned as he saw a disturbance in the crowd in front of him, various creatures were being bowled aside by… what appeared to be a rampant…

"Infernal! Where are you going?" As it got close however, he realized that it was no rampant Infernal, rather it was a mere trifling human that appeared to have somehow grafted one of their arms in place of his own..

He smiled and braced himself, it would matter not, he would match this being's power with his own and destroy hi-

Suddenly someone whispered in his ear, "You are not prepared."

Timmy, 501st Doomguard of the Burning Legion was having a good day, he was about to be one of the first to step into a new world to pillage and plunder. He had worked hours and hours to become one of the most evil and vile creatures of the Legion. Finally it had all paid off when he had promoted to the first wave to invade this new, pristine world. He had been delayed briefly when an snooty Eredar Lord had pushed his way past him, but now he was going to-

Suddenly a massive red form flew through the portal and Timmy looked up in slowly mounting despair, spreading his wings even though he knew that it was far too late to get out of the way in time.

It turned out that Jaraxxus and Timmy both had awful days.

* * *

"Good one" Morgl remarked as Illidan rejoined him in following behind Qrow.

Illidan grinned, "Always a pleasure to teach one of those fools a lesson." he replied. The night elf looked up to see that they were getting close, only a few more Grimm stood between them and the barrier.

He flapped his wings to catch up to Qrow, "Alright, that's good enough, you can stop now."

Qrow swallowed nervously and craned his head around to look at Illidan, a worried expression on his face, "Um… I don't really know how…"

* * *

Mul'dan was ecstatic, the very mysteries of the world, nay the entire universe were lay bare before him. He could see into the very engine of creation. He had known that the Fragments of Creation for each world was akin to a soul, a kind of foundation upon which everything was built. It went deeper than that though, every Fragment was connected intrinsically in a web that all lead back to… what he could only describe as a recipe for creating an entire new _existence_. Normally the Fragments were too old, too… set in themselves to allow anyone to see that recipe but this… this was a blank slate, this was-

Suddenly he was broken out of his reverie by the sound of a collision. He turned to see a human, their entire body slammed up against the barrier. With a most grating sound echoed throughout the barrier as Mul'dan watched in fascination as the human slid slowly down the barrier wall to crumple in a heap on the floor. Mul'dan only barely managed to contain his laughter at the human's misery, but the concentration demanded by the barrier's upkeep finally won out over his mirth. Finally he shook his head in amazement and turned back to the Fragment, "Don't see that every day." he said softly to himself.

Ruby watched anxiously as Morgl examined Qrow, "Is he alright?" she asked.

Morgl nodded, "I think the most damaged thing at this point will be his spirit." he told her. He looked up to Illidan, "It's your turn now, get that barrier down."

Illidan took a deep breath and nodded, turning to the barrier.

* * *

Mul'dan had just managed to start concentrating once more on his task when a strange whisper tickled his ears. He ignored it at first, dismissing it as some paltry attempt by Illidan, for he recognized it as the night elf's work, to disrupt his concentration.

Somehow, something within the Fragment was… responding to the whispers. Alarm filled Mul'dan, was the damned night elf somehow communing with the Fragment? He made sure that the barrier was fully intact, and then slowly began to listen to the whispers that elicited the response from the artifact.

"Why are there only two policemen in all of Vale?" Mul'dan frowned as something twisted inside of him.

"What in the world…" he muttered, he tried to pull back his consciousness, but that energy that… Aura… engulfed him and pulled him further in, and so the whispers came faster and more furious.

"Why is there no IT in Remnant? Why do guns kill nothing? How does Jaune not know anything? What was with Pyrrha's sudden suicidal tendencies?"

Mul'dan moaned, clapping his hands to his ears, everything was spinning out of control… none of this made sense and yet it all felt true.

"What is your favorite fairy tale?"

Mul'dan screamed as his mind twisted and he finally managed to pull back out of reach of the frenzied madness that swirled in the Fragment.

* * *

Illidan fell to his knees as the barrier flickered and disappeared, "Go!" he yelled at Ruby. Who nodded and concentrated on her Semblance, the room blurred and warped as she sped up, bringing Morgl with her. Even as she flew forward, she could see the barrier forming once more in slow-motion.

"Come on, come on!" she pushed herself harder and faster. A moment later, she was tumbling forward, the barrier sealing shut behind her. Morgl let out a cry as he flew at Mul'dan who rose a hand feebly to protect himself.

Morgl slammed into the warlock, casting him to the floor where he lay groaning.

"Mul'dan." the shaman intoned as he reached into the warlock's robes, "You have committed crimes against countless worlds, a traitor to your people." he withdrew his hand, holding an egg that had sickly green swirls. Mul'dan's eyes widened and he raised a pleading hand.

"No! Please!"

Morgl's eyes held no pity as he laid the egg on the ground and raised his staff, "The punishment… is death!" he yelled out, slamming his staff into the egg. There was a deafening ring and the egg shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Noooooo!" Mul'dan cried out as he shrunk before Ruby's very eyes, his robes collapsing in on itself until there was nothing but the red cloth lying on the ground.

Morgl nodded in grim satisfaction and stepped up to the Fragment, he whispered and the Fragment began glowing.

"Is that… a napkin with ketchup stains?" Ruby asked as she peered at the relic.

"Yes, yes it is." Morgl replied, he closed his eyes and his brow furrowed in concentration, "Hold onto your shorts," he told her, "This is gonna get crazier before it gets normal."

* * *

Yang was just beating one of the weird bipedal monsters that had stepped out of the portal with a Beowolf when suddenly the very ground beneath her seemed to shift. She dropped the hapless Grimm and turned just in time to see a circle of bright light materialize beside her. From it stepped a large metal figure that towered over here, in one mechanical hand it held a huge rifle with a bayonet affixed underneath.

There was a sharp hiss and the faceplate lifted to reveal a bearded man, he surveyed the battle and grinned, giving Yang a sharp wave.

"Howdy, mind telling me where the hell I am?"

"For Azeroth!" A man in plate armor charged forward and bowled the man in the metal suit over.

"Damn it! Not you again!" He yelled as the the man tried to stab him with a gigantic sword.

Suddenly a massive being made of fire emerged, its eyes fixated on the struggling pair and it raised a massive mace. The air swirled around it and soon a massive fireball had coalesced at its head, "Die insect!" It screamed and it flung its arm forward.

The fireball flew unerringly toward the two, and then for no adequate reason, suddenly veered off to collide with the ceiling, causing a minor explosion.

Yang just stood stupefied as yet another portal appeared and a woman stepped out, wielding two small pistols.

"The cavalry's here!" She declared, only to be bowled over and covered in a tide of murlocs that burbled happily as they trampled everything in their path.

Archimonde grunted as another blast of energy slammed into him, he was losing this battle, the champions were too strong. It mattered not however, he merely had to delay a few more minutes. Suddenly he was aware of a fundamental change in the energy that flowed throughout the room and he turned his gaze to see Mul'dan perish as a murloc shaman smashed his egg. The shaman then stepped up to the Fragment and begin communing with it.

"NO!" He cried and he flung out an outstretched arm.

"Yo! He's fixating!"

"Damnit! On who?!

Archimonde ignored the champions' babbling and concentrated, the air churned and twisted as pure fel energy formed in his palm. Finally he let it fly, a ball of sickly green death that would obliterate anything in its path and he smiled a toothy grin.

"He's in execute range! Nail him!"

Archimonde sighed as one of the tauren threw back its head and let out a war cry. Suddenly the champion's movements grew frenzied and their eyes became bright with bloodlust; despite all of the times that he had been defeated in such a manner, the pain that followed would never grow less… nor would the humiliation.

But, he thought, as he watched the sphere of doom fly inexorably across, it would all be over soon.

Ruby looked nervously as the huge green thing flew slowly across the room towards them, "Uhhhh… Morgl?"

"I know, I know, I'm almost finished."

The ball grew larger and she could feel the heat as it filled her vision. "Morgl!"

"Almost… there..." he grunted and the Fragment began to spin, and emit a sharp whine that grew in volume and depth until it seemed to resonate in her very bones.

Ruby closed her eyes and held up her scythe in a futile gesture of defiance and the whole world exploded.

* * *

Epilogue:

Ruby opened her eyes as Yang waved her hand in front of her face, "Hey… you alright? You seem spaced out." Ruby blinked and looked around, she was in the cafeteria at Beacon, students chatted and ate at the nearby tables.

Weiss walked over and sat down, her plate absolutely stacked to the brim with…

"Really Weiss? More fried chicken?" Blake asked, her eyebrow raised.

Weiss shrugged, "Hey, lay off me noob."

Ruby shook her head and tried to think, there had been some weird creatures, and an explosion, now she was here. "Where's Jaune and the others?" She asked, looking around.

"Hey." Jaune said as he sat down, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora followed closely behind, each greeting her as they sat down.

"Hey!" Ruby replied, but something was still off, she frowned and looked around the cafeteria, somehow… someone else was still missing.

Pyrrha seemed to notice her confusion, "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Ruby shook her head, "I don't know, I just feel like there's… someone missing." She cocked her head, "Did we ever know someone named-"

* * *

"Velvet! Come, we have to move quickly." Illidan walked along the path, they had escaped for now, but Maeiv would be back; she always came back.

Velvet paused and frowned, "Where are we?" she asked, examining the broken landscape.

Illidan paused and looked around, "You know, I'm not actually sure." As he looked, there were two gigantic shrines in the distance, as well as what appeared to be a giant statue of a bipedal dragon. He shook his head and continued walking forward "It doesn't matter, we should find an appropriate place to create a portal and get out of he-" Suddenly he slammed into an invisible wall of force and fell over. He growled as he stood back up, "What in the world?" he frowned as he poked at the barrier, a faint blue light appearing each time he touched it with his finger. "That's odd." he murmured.

"The battle will commencing in... ten seconds!" A voice suddenly boomed out of the sky.

Illidan and Velvet both looked up in confusion, then back down at one another.

"What is that supposed to me-." Velvet began, when suddenly a man-sized slug thing pulled up in between them. The two stared at it as it looked from between the two.

"Double demon hunter… unexpected… but efficient." It droned at them, before suddenly wrapping itself up inside a sickly green cocoon.

Before they could make anything out of that development, the voice in the sky spoke again "5...4...3...2...1… let the battle begin!"

Suddenly a cacophony of explosions erupted outside of the base, "Can someone please explain what's going on here?" screamed Illidan.

"There you are!" A depressingly familiar voice yelled.

Illidan looked with dread to see Maiev slamming her warglaives into the gate, unheeding of the projectiles being fired from the canons at either side. The stone crumbled and the blue barrier disappeared and she rushed forward, murderous intent in her eyes.

Illidan lifted his blades and snarled a challenge in reply. However, before she could reach him, an explosion of green liquid erupted beneath her, blocking her from view. When it dissipated, the Warden had disappeared.

Illidan and Velvet stared at the empty space for a moment, and then turned to the strange slug-like creature, whose head had popped out of the cocoon to stare in alien satisfaction.

"Efficient." It remarked, before going back into its cocoon.

"For that…" Velvet breathed, "I was not prepared."

* * *

"So in short, 'boop' is unacceptable, as it gives off an aura of unprofessionalism." Reaper said, casting his gaze around the table before fixing it squarely on Sombra, who shrugged, unconcerned.

He gave a huff, "Alright, just so we're clear… next item on the agenda, we have two new recruits today, I hope that you give them a Talon welcome."

A red haired man in a bowler hat stepped forward, along with a short woman with multicolored hair, "I look forward to working with you." Roman Torchwick said with a smile.

* * *

Ordon typed rapidly as the murlocs hammered at the door. He should never have messed with universe crossing, when he had been writing the other epilogues, he had noticed a bright spot out of the corner of his eyes, but had ignored it, as he had been focussed on solely on typing. Then suddenly, he had heard a savage warble and turned just in time to see a murloc with a kitchen knife running at him. No doubt yelling various things about honorable combat and conquest. Now he was trapped in his room, typing furiously on his laptop; he needed to hurry, but this wouldn't work if he didn't make it part of the fic. The door was nearly in splinters now, as the murloc worked savagely at it with the weapon. The ground shook slightly as a bright point of light began forming in the air; the door behind him shattered and the murloc ran at him, lifting the knife high as it...


End file.
